


The Young Crow Does Not Know

by thestripedhufflepuff



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Death, Destruction, F/M, Fighting, Friendship, Gay, Love, M/M, Pacific Rim - Freeform, Pain, Robots, War, mechanical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-26
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-04-06 07:46:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 104,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4213704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestripedhufflepuff/pseuds/thestripedhufflepuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Shouyou Hinata wakes up without any memories of his life before, other than that he is a solider fighting in a war, he vows to do the best he can within his new team to help fight against the enemies that are trying to destroy Crow's Allegiance, an organisation which is trying to put right with the world and stop the enemy from overthrowing humanity. He is partnered with Tobio Kageyama, a boy referred to as the 'King of the Battlefield' because of his stubbornness to work with others, and together they must pilot a Mech - a huge mechanical robot- and help their team, known as Karasuno, in their attempt to win the war. However, after the death of Kageyama's previous Mech partner, he's not willing to pair up with anyone else and Hinata needs to prove to him that he's worth having by his side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elsilly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elsilly/gifts).



> I said to my friend 'If you give me a plot idea, I will write you a Haikyuu!! fic' and this is the story idea she chose. (She literally could have picked anything and she chose robot war- why not).  
> Going to try and post a chapter a day! I am actually well ahead than what's posted here, so if I can keep writing a chapter a day and posting one a day I can keep on top of it! Giving myself a schedule/deadline makes me actually write it.  
> Please leave me comments and kudos if you enjoy this! I would like to hear your thoughts on the story as it progresses.

Despite all the unknown noises that were currently forcing themselves in his empty head, it was the stinging in his palms that woke Shouyou Hinata from whatever dreamless sleep he had been having. How long he had been asleep was a mystery to him, because he remembered nothing of his life before waking. He had no recollection of who he was, where he was or if there had even been anything before this very moment, his eyes staring at the grey concrete ceiling overhead, watching the flickering light bulb swing back and forth due to some sort of commotion above.

He sat up slowly, every muscle in his body trying to reject his movements, which made him feel as though he had definitely been immobile for some time. His heart was going in his chest and his feet were stinging him now, but he paid very little notice to this. His surroundings had captured his attention.

There were many other people in this room, some lying on beds like he was, which were arranged in neat little rows, others were stood up, getting their bearings as they wobbled around the room on stiff limbs. Nobody particularly caught Hinata's interest, the faces all seemed to merge into one and there was so much incomprehensible chatter going on that he found it all very confusing.

His name and age (sixteen) was written on a badge lying on top of a neatly folded jumpsuit at the end of his bed. It had to be his name, he thought, picking it up and examining it. It felt right to him, somehow. He was happy someone had been thoughtful enough to leave him a name badge, it calmed him a little, waking up and not knowing who you were was a very scary thing.

Someone at the end of the room had been sick. Hinata nodded in understanding, he felt a painful knot his stomach and was worried he might join him soon.

To stop his head from spinning, he lay back down again, breathing slowly, trying to go over what he did and did not know. What he knew was little to nothing, other than what to call himself and that he was a soldier. Hinata wasn't sure why he immediately knew he was a soldier, it just popped into his head and he agreed with this decision.

'I need to learn more.' He found himself muttering, furrowing his eyebrows.

 When the nurses came, he was anxious. They were all very calming, dressed in robin's egg blue, and the woman that served over him spoke very softly and stroked his forehead, whilst removing an IV drip from his arm he had not previously noticed. He asked questions about where he was and why he was there but she didn't answer, saying that was above her authority. She made him drink water and take a couple of shiny red pills before she pushed the jumpsuit into his arms and ordered him to change into it. 'They will collect you soon.'

Feeling a lot better after his little treatment, Hinata followed suit and stripped out of the baggy grey t-shirt and trousers he had previously been wearing and slipped into his jumpsuit. It fitted him perfectly, tracing any slight curve. The chest was protected by a thin veil of metal, which had a white number 10 scratched into it. The outfit itself was black from top to bottom, apart from several vibrant orange lights that ran along the seams. He caught his reflection in a metal bedpan and noticed the colour of the lights matched the vivid colour of his spiky mess of hair.

Hinata scanned the room, looking for other people with his hair colour, but had little luck. He wasn't sure whether he felt odd because of this, like he stood out too much from everyone else, or he should be proud that he was unique.  
He didn't have long to ponder over this because a whistle suddenly blew and everyone jumped in alarm. Several new faces had entered the concrete room and were ordering everyone to stand at the end of their beds and face forwards. Hinata realised almost immediately that he, unlike everyone else, had not put on his shoes- a pair of black combat boots lying at the foot of his bed.

He quickly scrambled to put them on, falling onto his backside on the stone floor. He struggled a little with the laces, his fingers fumbling over such tricky work, and when he looked up he found a large, very frightening looking man stood over him, glaring.

'Get up!'

Hinata obeyed.

'Get in line!'

Standing up as straight as his body would allow, Hinata fell into place and kept his eyes focused forwards, like everyone else was doing. Did they know this was the correct procedure? His hands were shaking. Or were they all, like him, completely terrified of this new arrival?

The stranger paced up and down a couple of times, eyeing up each person as he passed them with no comments, before standing by the door he had entered through and addressing the troops. 'Welcome, Cadets, to the Crow's Allegiance. I am sure you all have many questions and I am here to answer them for you.

'If you have not yet figured this out, your identities are listed on your name badge which was on top of your new uniform. These are names we have chosen for you and these will be the names you die with, either in old age or on the battle field. If you have not grasped the situation already, you should be aware that there is currently a war taking place. The details of this will be explained to you later.'

A few people looked nervous. Hinata gulped. It hadn't clicked to him that being a soldier meant fighting in a war. He didn't want to die.

'As your General, it is my job to be completely honest with you. I will never lie to you. I want only the best for my men and women. You may all be wondering why you know very little. This is because we have erased all your memories of your life before this moment, right now. '

There were a few gasps around the room. Some people looked shocked and angry.

'You may be surprised by this news, but I assure you, this was not our decision, but yours. Of course, none of you will remember it, but when we rescued each of you from the wastelands outside this base, we offered you the opportunity of a brand new start, free from the heartache, trauma and depression many of you suffered before we found you. The majority of you are orphaned, starved and dying, left the rot in no-man's land by the enemy.  
'The Crow's Allegiance will not, nor will it ever, allow the citizens of this world to suffer such a fate. We did not think it was fair for you to have to relive the trauma of your past so it is standard procedure for every new recruit to undergo memory modification, with your agreement, of course.'

A small timid voice from Hinata's left piped up. Every head swivelled in her direction. 'You say it was our choice, but how can we believe you? What if we want our memories back?'  
The General marched over and stood directly in front of her. She leant away from him, shaking. 'You will address me as General or Sir when speaking to me, Cadet. You will also learn to speak when you are spoken to. When I am talking, you will listen, do you understand me?'

'Y-yes, Sir.'

'Good. That goes for the rest of you.' He sighed and ran his fingers through his shock of grey hair. He then looked at her name badge and waved his assistant over- a tall, dark-haired woman- who handed him a clipboard. He scanned it. 'Michimiya, Yui. Reported to have been found, almost near death, after her family home had been blasted by an enemy missile. Witnessed family death. Suffers post-traumatic stress and depression. Suicidal.'

Her mouth was hanging open. He raised an eyebrow at her. 'That is your past. Do you really wish to remember this? Do you want to go to sleep every night with the images of your family's corpses surrounding you?'

Michimiya shook her head, tears in her eyes.

The General moved away from her. He raised the clipboard above his head. 'Does anyone else want to know the gruesome murder of their family and friends? I have it all here and let me tell you, not a single person in this room does not have a story unlike hers. There is a reason every last one of you agreed to have your memories wiped, because the thought of what had happened to you and your loved ones was too much for you to bear. You all agreed that you wanted to make a difference, to become soldiers and fight for the safety of this world to avenge those that you have lost.

'Unfortunately, we cannot afford to keep everyone we rescue as a refugee, we do not have the resources. We do not accept laziness. While you are here you must learn to earn your keep, prove your worth within our ranks and you must show to us that you are ready to fight for your world. When we win, you will all be known as heroes. This is the only thing we ask of you as payment for us rescuing you, giving you shelter and allowing you all a second chance at life. If this no longer appeals to you now that you don't feel the need to fight for the families you have lost, you are welcome to go back to the wastelands and live off rats, the choice is yours.'  
He pointed at the door. Nobody moved. He nodded, satisfied.

'When you fight with the Crow's, I want you to fight because you believe that this world deserves better, this world deserves justice, that every human being on this planet deserves peace. Every man must look out for his comrades, you will learn this soon enough when we divide you into groups. The men and women you will be partnered with will be with you for life, you will learn to work together harmoniously and without fail. You must learn to trust each other and have each other's backs, no matter the consequence. This is the mark of a good soldier.

'I want you all to sleep at night feeling thankful that we gave you the chance to start anew, safe and protected, knowing you are doing something good for the world, that you have a purpose in life.'

Hinata's eyes followed the clipboard as the General took his original position. His life before this was listed on that clipboard, everything that had happened to him and his family. What had his family been like? Had there been a lot of them? Had they been murdered too? They must have been for him to have willingly given up his memories of them. Had something so horrifically bad happened to them that it was unbearable to think about for any longer?

'There is little more I can tell you at this point,' the General was speaking again and Hinata forced himself to pay attention. 'When you are assigned to your team, you will be able to ask questions to your Lieutenants. You will all be piloting Mechs, which are life-sized robots. Do not panic, you are currently only Officer Cadets, which means you will undergo a lot of training before you step foot on the battle field.'

'What's the point of even fighting, Sir?' A boy around Hinata's age asked. The General shot him a glance.

'Does the idea of world peace not satisfy you, boy?'

'Ah, no, Sir, of course it does! I just don't want to die.'

'That is a coward's way of thinking, Cadet. If you train hard enough, you won't have to worry about dying at all.'

Hinata vowed to himself to train as hard as he possibly could. He did not want to die, not yet. He had too much to learn about this new life he had been thrown into. Piloting a Mech sounded like it would be fun, not that he had any clue about what they could look like. He was picturing another version of himself, only made out of metal, and he would have to give it orders and it would fight for him.

Suddenly, names were being shouted and Hinata was brought back to Earth. The Cadets were being sent off to join different groups to begin their training. He stood for a while, watching others around him leave the room, until finally his name was called and almost tripped over his own feet in his excitement to get up front.

'Hinata, Shouyou, you're with the Karasuno group. Head to Area 12 with-.'

He nodded before the General could finish speaking and sped off out the room and hurried down a corridor before realising he had absolutely no idea where Area 12 was and he had managed to get himself completely lost. Panicked, he tried to make his way back but had not been focusing on which path he had taken. It felt like he was just walking in circles, all the corridors looked exactly the same- grey stone with metal pipes.

Perhaps he had been supposed to wait for someone to direct him, or to ask a member of staff for directions, it seemed a bit ridiculous to expect brand new Cadets to know their way around this apparent labyrinth. He had just been far too eager to leave and find his new team.

Eventually, he came across a woman with raven black hair fixing one of the pipes on the wall, which was hissing with steam. She was wearing all black and had safety goggles on her face. He approached her cautiously, scared to get close to the steam. It looked hot. It didn't seem to be bothering her, but then again, she did look completely padded out and protected.

'Excuse me.' She turned to face him, blinking slowly. Her eyes were the first thing he noticed, so strikingly blue. She did not say anything to him, she just waited for him to continue talking. He rocked on the balls of his feet, trying to shake of the nerves. She was very pretty, despite all the black grease on her face. 'I'm sorry, Miss. I'm lost. Could you help me?'

She nodded.

'I'm supposed to be going to Area 12, but I don't have a clue where that is.'

'Just go straight down this path,' she said very quietly. She pointed behind her. 'Second door on your left.'

Hinata thanked her and sped off. He noticed now that some of the doors had numbers etched into the concrete over the top of them. He skidded to a halt in front of the one that said 12 and pressed the little flashing button that made the heavy metal door slide open.

The room inside was huge, bigger than what he had already seen wandering around this base. The ceiling was three times as high as the one in the first room and the floor was made of metal grating and there were no windows. There were at least thirty-so Mechs in this room, large, bigger-than-human sized mechanical robots which looked really intimidating, all black and shiny with the same orange lights running along the metal to match his jumpsuit. They were large enough to fit two people, which he noted because two people were currently seated in the cockpit of one of them, which was visible because the top was pulled back. They were both making the arms and legs move, swinging a punch and testing that the machine guns attached to each arm were working properly by firing at the metal wall opposite which was covered in bullet holes. The noise of each bullet striking the metal sent shivers down Hinata's spine and he had to press his hands to his ears. This was scarier than he'd imagined.  
When gunfire died down, the two men in the Mech whooped to each other and high fived. They unfastened their safety belts and jumped out of the machine with little difficultly, despite the Mechs height, and landed on their feet.

One of the two men was tiny. Smaller than Hinata, who had noticed already how short he was compared to all the other male Cadets. The only noticeable thing about the second man was he had a shaved head. They didn't look much older than Hinata, maybe a year or two, he had to guess.

Too busy admiring their handiwork to pay Hinata any attention, he decided to take this opportunity to have a good nosy around before having to introduce himself. He wanted to examine a Mech so badly, his fingertips were itching with excitement.  
However, before he could even get close to a Mech, another man appeared from a side room, which looked like some kind of office, and did a double take when he spotted Hinata. 'Oh!'

The other two turned to look and both gasped when they saw Hinata. They rushed over, almost stumbling into him. He moved away, terrified. They seemed far too eager about him being there.

'Tanaka, Noya, calm yourselves.' The third man said, sighing. 'Don't scare the kid.'

'H-hello. I'm Shouyou Hinata. Uh, I was assigned to Area 12? The Karasuno team? Um..'

'Yeah, that's us.' The guy with a buzz-cut beamed, showing a lot of white teeth. He pounded himself on the chest proudly. 'I'm the Boss, here. Ryunosuke Tanaka.'

The third man glared at him. 'Be quiet, Tanaka. Don't listen to him, Hinata, I'm the Lieutenant here. My name is Daichi Sawamura.'

He shook Hinata's hand. Noya bounced forwards and grasped Hinata's wrist with both of his hands and shook violently. Daichi pulled him away. 'Noya, behave.'

'Sorry, Daichi. Hey kid!' He grinned even wider than Tanaka had. Hinata frowned at him- who was he to call anyone a kid? 'The name's Yu Nishinoya, everyone calls me Noya though. Me and Ryu are Lance Corporal.'

'I don't know what that means.' Hinata muttered, feeling embarrassed. Surely, knowing he was a solider would mean he meant he knew the different ranks, but they meant nothing to him.

'Don't worry about it, Hinata.' Daichi said calmly. He was tall, good-looking and had dark spiky hair. His face looked stern but friendly. 'You are only a Officer Cadet, which means you have lots of training to do. We'll teach you about the different ranks and how to pilot a Mech and the current status of the war. It will be some time before you have to fight on the battlefield, we would never allow you to go out if you weren't ready.'

That's reassuring, Hinata thought.

'Although everyone here is a different rank, we don't bother with formalities. It's much easier to call each other by name, it makes our bond as a team stronger anyway. It will be good to get to know you.'  
'But I have no memories.' Hinata said. 'I barely know myself.'

Daichi smiled. 'You will figure it all out soon enough and become your own person. I am always intrigued by the personalities everyone ends up adopting over time. When Nishinoya first arrived here, he was terribly quiet.'

'Yeah, now he won't shut up.' Tanaka sighed and rested his arm on the top of Noya's head, who huffed and swatted him away. 'I guess they didn't explain to you about how anything works within a team, did they?'

Hinata shook his head.

'It's our job to show him, you learn better by doing around here. General Ukai has very little to do with Officer Cadets, other than the first introduction.' Daichi beckoned for Hinata to walk with him and told the other two to get back to training. They headed off back to their Mech after fist bumping Hinata, who was very happy that they'd taken an immediate liking to him. He was so pleased his team was nice. Daichi walked over to a Mech with the numbers 9 and 10 on either leg. 'This will be the Mech you will be piloting, eventually. Each Mech requires two pilots in the cockpit.'

'I have a partner?'

'Yes, you will be meeting him shortly. He's running some errands at the moment.' Daichi informed him. He tapped the Mech fondly. 'Your partner is one of the best recruits we've ever had, he's a genius. He can pretty much control a Mech on his own.'  
Hinata was startled. 'So, then, he doesn't need me?

Daichi laughed. 'He'd like to think that way, yes. No, no, every Mech needs two pilots, regardless how skilled one of them is. It doesn't work as well unless there's two, and you have to sync up your movements together and work completely as one unit to be the best. I, uh, I should warn you your partner might be a bit tricky to get along with to begin with, I'm sure he'll warm up to you though.'

Hinata felt his stomach knot. He didn't want his new partner to dislike him.

'Let me introduce you to my partner. Hey, Suga!'

A man had been sitting at a table at the back of the room, pouring over stacks of paper that were spilling onto the floor. He looked up as the two of them approached. He had neat light-grey hair, a mole beneath his left eye and gave Hinata such a genuine, friendly smile that he felt all his anxiety just slip away for a moment. 'Hinata, this is my Mech partner, Koushi Sugawara, second Lieutenant. That means he's in charge if something happens to me. Suga, this is our new Cadet who will be partnered with Kageyama, Shouyou Hinata.'

'It's very nice to meet you, Hinata.' They shook hands. 'I'm glad to have you as part of our team. You're the only new Cadet we've had this year.'

'O-oh? Is that a bad thing?'

'No, no, certainly not!' Suga laughed and waved a hand lazily. 'It's a good thing, teams get new recruits at least every two months when they need replacements. Thankfully, we have not lost any of our men.'

'B-but, Kaneyama doesn't have a partner, does that mean I'm replacing someone?'

'Kageyama,' Suga corrected Hinata's mistake. 'Lost his partner in the first battle he ever took part in, a year ago. Unfortunately the two of them just did not sync well together. It was our mistake, since they got very little time to train together, due to complicated reasons, and thankfully we haven't lost any more of our team this year. He's been fighting alone ever since and refused to have anyone in the cockpit with him. I think the higher ups have gotten tired of his attitude and assigned him a new partner, whether he likes it or not. You're not exactly replacing anyone because they were never, technically, a team in the first place.'

Hinata nodded, suddenly very scared that if he and Kageyama did not sync up straight away, he was probably going to meet the same fate as Kageyama's first ever partner. He gulped.

'Don't be so nervous,' Daichi told him. He nodded but couldn't really help it. 'I'd introduce you to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi but they've gone out on a resource mission. They'll be back later.'

'Major Ukai and Captain Takeda will probably want to speak with him.' Suga said, scribbling notes down onto the paper in front of him. Hinata could not understand any of it, it all looked really complicated to him.

'How can I read,' Hinata asked out of the blue. 'If they took my memories?'

'They didn't take every single memory from you,' Suga answered. 'You still know all your basic stuff, how to read and write, how to do math, how to eat and sleep and go to the bathroom. They just took the memories of your life, if that makes sense. You don't remember growing up or having a family or friends. I wouldn't be too upset about it, none of us remember and it's probably for the better, but we build our family in our teams, and make new friends and it feels like you were never missing anything to begin with.'

Hinata screwed up his face and clenched his fists. 'I promise to try really, really hard. I want to be part of your family. I want to fight and save the world.'

Daichi and Suga laughed wholeheartedly. 'I'm glad to hear it. We need more Cadet's like you.'

An orange light began to flash overhead and Hinata almost jumped out of his skin. The other two turned to look at a large metal shutter that was the very far end of the room. Slowly and with a lot of noise, as though it really needed a good oil, the door began to slide upwards, revealing a harsh yellow light from outside. Hinata squinted and shielded his eyes, watching as a large black silhouette was revealed. The door came to a jittery halt and the sound of steam being released was heard as the Mech stomped its way into the room, the floor vibrating underneath their feet, the metal grating shaking violently, almost threatening to give way and send the Mech crashing into the hundreds of pipes that slithered and connected beneath.  
The Mech came to a halt next to Tanaka and Noya's, who both did not even look up from what they were doing (having a thumb-wrestling match), and there was another hissing sound as the top of the Mech was lifted up and sent backwards, revealing two people within. They unstrapped themselves and clambered out, a little less gracefully than Tanaka and Noya.

Without even acknowledging Hinata's presence, the two of them approached Daichi, carrying unknown items wrapped in rags. Daichi thanked them and opened the top most one the blonde guy was carrying, revealing a heap of tin cans inside. Hinata stood on tiptoes to look. 'Cans?'

'We need to keep a constant stock of food supplies,' Daichi explained, making the newcomers set the supplies at their feet. 'There are plenty of cities and towns that have been completely abandoned, most people who are unfit to fight have moved into safe housing, thanks to the Crows work, so we have to take it in turns to go out and scavenge whatever is left over. Canned foods are usually the best, because they will last a very long time.'

'I hope you like canned fruit.' The blonde one said, glaring down at Hinata. He was the tallest person here and wore thick-rimmed spectacles which flashed whenever the light hit them. He turned to Daichi. 'What's with the kid?'

'This is Kageyama's new partner, Hinata.' Daichi introduced him. Hinata held out his hand for the two of them to shake but they both ignored it. He lowered it, feeling a little hurt. Had he given them a dodgy look or had they been insulted by his 'cans' comment?

The blonde one laughed in his throat, very humourlessly. 'Good luck with that. I won't introduce myself, you'll be dead within the week.'

'Tsukishima!' Daichi and Suga both snapped at the same time. He sighed.

'I am only speaking my mind.' Tsukishima said in a very bored voice. 'You know no one gets on with the King.'

'The King?' Hinata was puzzled.

'It's a nickname for Kageyama,' the second man said. He was shorter than Tsukishima and had messy shoulder length brown hair and a heavily freckled face. 'He's called the Selfish King of the Battle Field, because he refuses to work with anyone and likes to dictate others. Tsukki is much better than him, though, he thinks he's the best of the best-'

'Shut up, Yamaguchi.' Tsukishima sighed.

Yamaguchi fell silent.

'This team is becoming such a joke.' Tsukishima stated very clearly and then walked away before Daichi or Suga could yell at him again. Yamaguchi gave Hinata the once over before hurrying after his Mech partner. Suga let out bated breath.

'I'm really sorry about him,' Suga apologised. 'I wouldn't pay much attention to anything he says, he's not particularly happy being here.'

'Why not? Doesn't he want peace?'

'Yes,' Daichi said. 'He's just not very social, is all. Constantly having to work in a group makes him quite grumpy. He has his own way of doing things.'

'So, he's like Kageyama?'

'No. He understands that he needs a partner to pilot his Mech, he's clever enough to know it's worthless going it alone, he doesn't have the same stubbornness that Kageyama has. He does get on with Yamaguchi quite well, even if it doesn't seem that way. They sync excellently together, mainly because Yamaguchi is quite submissive and will do everything Tsukishima says, which is one way of working together, I guess.' Daichi scratched back of his head. 'That's the whole team, anyway, apart from Major Ukai, who is General Ukai's grandson, and Captain Takeda, but they will be along another time. They usually appear whenever we are being sent out on a battle, as they're the ones who arrange our movements and attack strategies. They're both very friendly, so I wouldn't worry. You don't need to be so formal with them, either, although don't let Ukai persuade you into drinking with him.'

The look on his face suggested he had had bad experiences with Major Ukai and alcohol.

'There's Asahi too.' Suga reminded Daichi.

'Oh yes, he'll be in the Medical Ward though, so I'll introduce you whenever he's next around. He used to be a Lance Corporal like Tanaka and Noya, but he doesn't fight anymore.'

'You can stop being a solider?' Hinata asked. Daichi pulled a face.

'Under certain circumstances.'

'Like what?'

He didn't answer. Hinata felt his ears burn. The expression on Daichi's face told him he was crossing into a forbidden territory. He wondered what circumstances would be considered good enough to get you out of service duty. Perhaps you had to be seriously injured, maybe that's why this Asahi person was in the Medical Ward.

Trying not to picture the terrible things that could have happened to Asahi, Hinata allowed Daichi to give him a tour of Area 12. The main room held all their equipment for fixing and building and training with Mechs, there was an office room which contained a large table covered in yet more paper, a radio control room which the Captain used to keep in contact with them when they were out on a mission, a bathroom and a washroom and a room filled with bunk beds. Daichi said Hinata would sleep in the room with them when he passed his training and became a Private. For now, he would be sharing a room with all the other trainee Cadets, the same room he had originally woken up in.

He then took Hinata around the base, showing him some of the other Areas, which looked identical to their own, the largest room in the entire base was filled with fighting jets and helicopters, there were rooms filled with steaming boilers and tables piled with unknown machinery, gears and cogs. Daichi told him none of these other rooms were important and it was likely Hinata would only ever be in Area 12, his sleeping quarters and the cafeteria, which Hinata was very pleased to be led into at the end of his tour because he was only just realising how hungry he was.

'All meals are free, breakfast is served from five until seven. Lunch is twelve until one and dinner is six til eight. We usually eat together as a team. I suggest you don't miss these meals because, for one, you won't get offered another meal until the next appointed time- I will be after you if you don't turn up because regular eating is very important for your health, and it's the only real time we get to sit and catch up and talk about things other than the war and Mechs and training. It will be a good time to learn more about your fellow team mates. Tanaka and Noya will talk you under the table, be warned. Don't let them interrupt you when you are speaking.'

Daichi then got a message through the com he wore on his ear and told Hinata that he had to leave. 'Get yourself some breakfast and then come back to Area 12 when you are done. Kageyama is on his way back. I want you two to meet each other.'  
He left.

Hinata made his way to the counter, his stomach rumbling loudly and his mouth watering at the smell of hot food. He was greeted by a friendly old lady who served him scrambled egg and beans and a single rasher of bacon. She handed him a cup of water in a shaky hand and he took it from her with a word of thanks.

Feeling too awkward to go and sit with any of the other people in the cafeteria, not knowing who was a Cadet or not, so he took a seat by himself and shovelled down his food, not really tasting what he was eating because he was too hungry to control himself and because he was far too excited about meeting his partner to waste any time.

Sloshing half of his cup of water down himself, Hinata pushed his plate away and stood up. He let out a long breath and tried to pump himself up as he headed back to Area 12. He needed to look professional, intelligent, like he knew what he was doing (even though he obviously didn't, being a Cadet). He didn't want Kageyama to think little of him (no pun intended).

Once again, he found himself asking for directions back to Area 12 because he'd been too focused on Daichi and what he'd had to say to notice the paths they'd been taking. Eventually, and a little out of breath from running, Hinata made his way back to Area 12 and let himself into the room.

Daichi and Suga were in a Mech, fighting against Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Both had their tops open. Noya and Tanaka were watching from the side lines. Hinata ran over to join them. 'Why are they fighting?'  
'It's just practice,' Tanaka said, slapping Hinata on the back in a form of greeting. 'Daichi wants us to learn to fight with the top off because he says we need to learn to defend ourselves better. It'd be bad if your robot was ripped in half and you were exposed with no form of self-defence.'

'You can rip a robot in half?!'

'I wish! That would be so cool!' Noya shouted. 'Nah, nah, but you can smash the glass of the cockpit, which is just as bad. The glass is supposed to be bulletproof and shatterproof but it doesn't always hold out and that makes you extremely vulnerable, so Daichi wants us to be able to receive attacks better and block them.'

'Noya here is an excellent blocker. Our Mech barely gets scratched when he's in control.' Tanaka said, ruffling Noya's hair. He looked extremely annoyed and began running his fingers through it to re-spike it.

'So, what's your job?'

'It's Noya's job to block all the attacks that are sent our way and it's my job to throw attacks straight back at the enemy. I'm amazing at it, I might like to add. Really popular with the ladies.' Tanaka sniffed sadly. 'I was hoping you were going to be a girl. We haven't had any girls on our team, ever!'

'That's because you're a pervert.' Tsukishima was walking over to them. The fighting had stopped and the four had already gotten out of their Mechs. Suga and Daichi were busy examining the Mechs and discussing better defence alternatives.

Tanaka glared at him and puffed himself up. 'Quiet, Specky, you're just jealous because I get all the ladies and you don't.'

'Tsukki has no interest in women-' Yamaguchi snapped back but Tsukishima told him, once again, to shut up.

'Getting slapped by women all the time doesn't count as 'getting all the ladies',' Tsukishima's tone never seemed to change, which Hinata couldn't help finding really bizarre. Did everything bore him? 'You're pretty pathetic.'

'You wanna say that to my face, huh, punk?!' Tanaka shouted, trying to go for Tsukishima but Noya held him back. Despite his size, he appeared to be strong enough to hold back someone a foot taller than him.

'Tanaka, stop it!' Daichi had come over to see what the commotion was about. Tsukishima was already walking off, Yamaguchi at his heel like an obedient puppy. 'Must you always start arguments?'

'I didn't start it! It was that miserable git!' Tanaka huffed, indicating at Tsukishima's retreating back. Daichi sighed.

'Please try to set an example for our newest member.' Suga put in, tucking a pen behind his ear. 'We are trying to show him how to work together as a team.'

'It doesn't matter if me and him don't get along,' Tanaka said irritably. 'We are never going to pilot a Mech together.'

'You never know.'

'No way!' He and Noya formed some sort of weird back-to-back position. 'I've got my bro for life.'

Tanaka and Noya both started chanting 'Bro, Bro, Bro' to each other whilst beating their fists into the air, but one sharp look from Daichi made them stop immediately. Tanaka leaned into Hinata and whispered 'You need to be careful around Daichi, he's really scary.'

'I heard that.' Daichi said, now leaning over the papers Suga had been working on earlier. Tanaka pulled a face at Hinata and scurried off, literally dragging Noya behind him.

'I thought Kageyama was going to be here?' Hinata asked, glancing around the room. Daichi nodded.

'Hmm, yeah,' he seemed a bit more focused on whatever he and Suga were doing. 'He'll be here soon. Be patient.'

However, after an hour and still no sign of his partner, Hinata's patience began to wear thin and he was starting to get extremely jealous watching the others piloting their Mechs and battling each other. He wanted to learn how to do that so bad it hurt him to think about it.

Daichi had given him some papers to file away but he'd gotten bored and just shoved them all into one draw. He went and wandered around the Mech he would be piloting, stroking it, admiring it from every angle, wishing he was tall enough to see inside of it and all the buttons in the cockpit. He peered over his shoulder and checked the others were busy before reaching up, standing on his toes, and tried to hoist himself into the Mech. A voice from behind made him cry out and he fell, landing on his backside with a painful thud.

'What are you doing?'

He looked behind him and found a boy around his own age glaring at him. He got to his feet as fast as he could and held out his hand. 'My name is Shouyou Hinata. It's nice to meet you.'

The other boy did not shake it. He continued to glare. 'Why are you touching my Mech?'

Hinata's face lit up. 'Are you Kageyama?!'

Kageyama did not look impressed that this strange new boy knew his name. He nodded, looking sour. 'What do you want?'

'I'm your new partner!'

'No.'

'But-'

'No. I work by myself.'

'Actually Kageyama,' Daichi had wandered over, having noticed Kageyama had finally returned. 'You will not be allowed out on any more missions until you have a partner, I've been told this by the General. Either you learn to get along with Hinata or you don't get to pilot a Mech at all.'


	2. Chapter 2

 Kageyama was livid.

 What followed was a very heated argument between him and Daichi, which Tanaka and Noya watched from the sidelines enthusiastically, shouting encouragement to Daichi before he rounded on them and they fled in fear of their lives. Fuming, Kageyama did not say a single word to Hinata, but instead, stomped out of the room and left an awful, ringing silence in his wake.

 'That went well.' Suga sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and signalling to Noya to come out from underneath a Mech. He'd kept well out of the way of the argument as it had been taking place and only reappeared once everything had settled. Daichi was quite red faced after having to shout Kageyama down and accepted a bottle of water from Suga, gulping half of it before saying he was going to go make sure Kageyama didn't rip General Ukai's head off.

 Hinata hadn't felt so down since, well, this was the first time he'd felt down since waking up without any memories. He didn't like this feeling, there was a painful knot in his stomach and his chest felt tight and his eyes stung, threatening tears. He hadn't expected Kageyama to kick up such a fuss about him being his new partner, he'd hoped Kageyama might have just been a bit grumpy and Hinata's cheery nature would have livened things up and they would have been bonding in no time. For some reason unknown to Hinata, Kageyama hated him. He could see it in the way he had looked at Hinata, his blue eyes burning.

 'Maybe I should move to a new group.' Hinata said timidly, shuffling his feet. Tanaka scoffed.

 'Don't be stupid,' he said, slapping Hinata on the back. 'You'll be fine once Kageyama gets used to you.'

 'The King isn't used to sharing.' Tsukishima added, from his seated position by the far wall. Hinata hadn't even noticed him there. Yamaguchi was by his side, of course, and they were both reading battered leather books with no visible titles.

 'Please stop referring to him as the King, Tsukishima. You know how much it winds him up.' Suga said politely. Tsukishima raised an eyebrow but gave no response and returned to his book.

 'I think being called a King is really cool,' Hinata interjected, wondering if Daichi was managing to persuade Kageyama to give him a chance. 'He's like royalty.'

 'Not when he's being called the Selfish King,' Suga said. 'I think people overlook the fact that he lost his last partner, that must have hit him hard-'

 'He lost his last partner because he was selfish and didn't want to work with him,' Tsukishima piped up. Suga frowned at him. 'You can glare at me all you want, but you know it's true. He refused to co-operate with the boy and got him killed in the process. Making excuses for him won't save the shrimps life when it comes to the battlefield.'

 Hinata sagged at the word shrimp.

 'I'm never going to get to pilot a Mech, am I?'

 'Of course you are,' Suga reassured him, patting his shoulder gently. 'Kageyama loves being on the battlefield, he's obsessed with it, and being told no is not an option for him. He'll come round to the idea of having a partner again soon, because watching the rest of us go on missions will only frustrate him.'

 'But he still won't like me.'

 Suga sighed. 'Maybe not, at first, but he's not actually a bad guy. He looks a little scary and he can be quite serious, but if you can get to know him, he's utterly loyal to this team and the Allegiance and will always have our backs.'

 'Hardly.' Tsukishima muttered. Suga ignored him.

 While Kageyama and Daichi were vacant, Suga offered to show Hinata some of the basics about piloting a Mech. Kageyama never went anywhere without his Mech key, so they couldn't use the one Hinata was supposed to be piloting, instead, he took Daichi's place in the Mech with the numbers 1 and 2 on either leg.

 It was roomier than he'd expected, although he was much shorter than Daichi or Suga so it was probably cramped to them. He couldn't really reach the foot holds because how far Daichi had pulled his seat back, but Suga said that wasn't really an issue for the time being because the pedals were just for breaking. He showed Hinata how to safely, and correctly, strap himself in - 'If you have to emergency break, you do not want to be thrown out the cockpit window, or you know, get whiplash and break your neck.' - and showed him how to move the arms, the legs and twist the Mech around at the middle, which made Hinata feel dizzy and he went a little too fast and Suga had to slam on the breaks.

 'You both have control over the arms and the legs,' Suga explained, showing him the levers required to move the Mech. 'This is why you have to properly sync with each other, because if you're both trying to move the Mech opposite directions it's not going to work. You need to know who is in charge of what, who is going to make the Mech run while the other person is firing, who is going to swing a punch while the other person uses the free arm to block. Strategies are very important. It's hard for me to give you tips because everyone is different in their attack strategy. Take me and Daichi, for example, he is an incredible blocker, he will take hit after hit without causing any damage to our Mech, while I look for the weak points, I'm always thinking about our next move and how to beat them and I have to constantly communicate with him about my ideas, and then we decide who is going to attack and who is going to defend and so on. There is a lot of talking involved. You've really got to connect.'

 Hinata couldn't imagine trying to tell Kageyama what to do. He just envisaged Kageyama bringing the Mech to a screeching halt and flinging Hinata out of the robot onto the wastelands outside the base.

 'Try and move and attack by yourself.' Suga said. Hinata nodded.

 He was sort of getting the hang of moving the Mech, it wasn't as hard as he'd first thought, the Mech seemed to respond to his commands really well and he could make it walk quite quickly across the room. However, when it came to trying to throw a punch at the same time, he got a little lost, let go of the controls and the Mech wobbled dangerously before Suga pulled it back into a standing position. 'It's hard, isn't it?'

 'Yeah.'

 'That's why you need a partner, it's so hard to try and do two things at once. You're trying to focus all your attention on making the Mech move and go where you need it to go that you're not thinking where to punch or how.'

 'So, Kageyama can do that by himself?'

 'To an extent, yes.' Suga admitted. 'He's clever enough to, but it makes him slower than he could be. His attacks are less powerful than they would be if he could put all his force into them, instead of trying to run at the same time. It's really not helping him, he could achieve so much more with you, as well as get himself promoted to a Lance Corporal. I honestly think you'd make a good team, you seem to have grasped the movement quite quickly, if you can keep it up, keep practising, you should be ready to fight in no time.'

 Hinata nodded, feeling a little better after Suga's demonstration. He could definitely get used to this. He vowed to himself that the moment Kageyama stepped back through those doors, he was going to march up to him and demand that they both start training together immediately.

 Easier said than done, though, he thought, nerves shaking him. Suga helped him climb out of the Mech. He almost stumbled on his way down but Suga grabbed his shoulders and helped him get his balance back.

 'Thank you for showing me,' Hinata beamed. Suga smiled warmly. 'I don't want to be a bother, but do you think you could teach me about the different ranks? I still don't understand what any of them mean.  Well, I guess Lieutentant means the Boss?'

 'Uh, in a sense. Come on, it's lunch time, I'll tell you about it in the cafeteria.'

 

 The ranking system wasn't too difficult for Hinata to get his head around. All new members, currently undergoing training and not allowed out onto the battlefield, were, like Hinata, Officer Cadets. Once your training was over, you became a Private.

 This is what Kageyama, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were.

Despite having only served for a little over a year, Kageyama's skills way surpassed Private rankings, but he was forbidden from being made anything higher since he did not have a partner. Suga said it was likely he would come around to the idea of having Hinata as his partner if it meant he'd made Lance Corporal.

 To be made a Lance Corporal, Suga explained, sharing out chunks of bread to everyone around the dining table, you had to have done at least three years as a Private. Hinata was slightly disappointed to hear this, he'd been hoping if he did well enough, he'd be able to jump up the rankings pretty quickly and he doubted he'd ever have the same skills as Kageyama for the higher-ups to overlook this rule.

 'I wouldn't worry about it, Hinata,' Suga reassured him. 'The rankings don't really mean much, in terms of fighting ability or anything. They're just in place to keep order to the team, if Daichi goes down, and I went down, then the leadership would fall to the oldest Lance Corporal until a new Lieutenant was arranged.'

 'That's me.' Noya grinned. Hinata blinked at him.

 'You're older than Tanaka?'

 'What are you trying to say?!'

 'Noya, please, let me continue.' Suga interrupted before Noya could kick off about Hinata's reference to his height. 'The majority of people here don't get any higher than Lance Corporal, this is usually because no one is promoted to Second Lieutenant until the first Lieutenant is killed or incapacitated, but that doesn't actually often happen because the Lieutenants are Lieutenants for a reason. So, for example, if Daichi, God forbid, was killed in action, I would take over as Lieutenant and either Noya or Tanaka would be promoted to Second Lieutenant, if the General thought they were skilled enough.'

 'You said if you and Daichi went down, they'd only be in charge until a new person replaced you?'

 'I said until a new Lieutenant was arranged, meaning technically Noya would be in charge until they decided who, out of the Lance Corporals, was best suited for the roles. It's usually unlikely to be a member from another team, unless they don't think any of the Lance Corporals are good enough for the job.'

 'Right, ok.' Hinata said slowly. 'So, if the Lieutenant is in charge of the team, what is the Captain and the Major for?'

 'Captain Takeda's jobs are tactical responsibility for operations on the ground, equipment maintenance and logistics, and to give us whatever support we need. When you finally go out for a battle, he'll be the one speaking to you through your com system. He'll be able to tell you where the enemy are coming from, what weapons they might have, what damage you are taking to your Mech and so on. Major Ukai comes up with all the battle strategies, being the General's grandson he can get a lot of inside knowledge about the enemy teams and their attack styles, which we learn to counter against. There will be a lot of meetings with him.'

 'Yeah, they're dull.' Tanaka said with a mouth full of food. Suga glared at him.

 'I think they're quite interesting. Daichi's job-'

 'Is to boss us around.' Noya said.

 'No,' Suga sighed. 'Daichi commands us when we are out on the field, we have to listen any order he gives us, it's usually him and Captain Takeda who speak to each other the most. He sees to it that we train every day, that we keep up our mental and physical well-being and is the only one who can really tell Kageyama what to do.'

 'Ha! I wish.' Daichi had just joined them at the table. He slumped into a seat next to Suga with a bowl of vegetable soup in his hands. Suga smiled at him fondly. 'Kageyama is still fuming about not being allowed on the field. I had to take his keys off of him.'

 'Did he say anything to the General?' Yamaguchi asked.

 Daichi shook his head. 'The General isn't here. Kageyama stomped around the entire base looking for him until the General's secretary told him he was out on business. We ended up having another argument and I made him, reluctantly, hand over his keys.'

 'How'd you manage that?' Noya asked.

 'I threatened to break apart his Mech if he didn't.' Daichi said coolly, ripping a piece of bread in half and dunking it in his soup. Tanaka laughed. 'After lunch I'm going to give you the keys, Hinata.'

 Hinata dropped his spoon in his soup, making is slosh over the sides of the bowl. He stuttered. 'M-me?! Why me?'

 'So you can say to Kageyama that the only way he will get his keys back and be able to pilot his Mech again will be with you in the cockpit beside him,' Daichi told him. 'If he refuses, get into the Mech and start piloting it by yourself.'

 'Please, _please_ , let me be there to see that! I want to see the look on his face!' Tanaka said. Noya nodded in agreement, his cheeks stuffed with bread. Hinata smiled weakly.

 'I don't really want to wind him up.'

 'It's the best way to make him work with you,' Suga said. 'He'll be furious that another person is using his Mech so he'll end up agreeing to pilot it with you.'

 'But what if he gets in and throws me out? Or steals the keys back?'

 'Then you come straight to me,' Daichi informed him. 'And I'll deal with him.'

 The conversation soon changed onto the topic of the all-female team sat across the cafeteria from them. It was, of course, Tanaka and Noya who brought up this topic and were trying to convince Daichi and the others to move over to the girl's table when Kageyama came storming in. He walked past their table, which fell silent, watching him, and glared at the old lunch lady until she handed him something to eat.

 He then came and took a seat at their table, next to Hinata, who felt his chest tighten with anxiety.

 Everyone stared at Kageyama, who breathed out deeply through his nose and then turned to Daichi, his face strained at what he was about to say 'Fine, I apologise. I swear I'll work with this guy. Just let me back on the battlefield.'

 Hinata's face lit up but Daichi leaned close to Kageyama, his brown eyes wide and staring. Kageyama leant away from him, as far as he could go without tipping off of his chair. 'Are you sure you mean that?'

 He continued to stare at Kageyama, unblinking, until Kageyama became uncomfortable and gritted his teeth together. Eventually, he looked away, his face sour. 'If I have to work with that guy, I'd rather not pilot a Mech at all.'

 Daichi raised an eyebrow at him, obviously sceptical. 'Fair enough. If you want to join us in the training room after you've eaten, I'll be teaching Hinata how to work your Mech.'

 Angry, but biting his tongue, Kageyama shot daggers with his eyes at Hinata, who shrunk back in his seat. Daichi didn't seem fazed by Kageyama's attitude and reached into his pocket and pulled a keyring holding two silver keys. Kageyama's eyes followed them as he handed them over to Hinata.

 'It would make things a lot easier for yourself if you just agreed to at least try practising with Hinata.'

 'What's your problem with me, anyway?' Hinata had finally found his voice. He locked eyes with Kageyama and tried not to blink. He wanted to show he wasn't threatened or intimidated by him. 'I want to work with you.'

 'He's already getting the hang of moving a Mech,' Suga, who had been watching them silently, now added. 'I think you'll both be battling together on the field in no time, if you start practising straight away.'

 After a long sigh, Kageyama pushed his chair back and got to his feet. He glared down at Hinata. 'Fine. Come on then, I haven't got time to waste.'

 'Aren't you going to finish your meal?' Suga asked. Kageyama ignored him and began walking off. He stopped at the doorway and looked back. 'Are you coming then?'

 Hinata cast one look around the other members before jumping to his feet and scurrying after Kageyama. He kept his pace a few steps behind Kageyama, wondering what to say to him that wouldn't get him yelled at. He thought it best he try to introduce himself again.

 'My name's Shouyou Hinata, by the way.'

 'I know who you are.'

 Hinata chewed his tongue for a moment before jogging to Kageyama's side and falling in line with him. 'Can I ask a question?'

 When Kageyama didn't reply, Hinata decided to take his answer as a yes. 'Are you stupid?'

 Kageyama rounded on him. 'What did you say?'

 'Why would you want to fight alone? Fighting in a Mech is a two-man job, you know that, everyone knows that-'

 'Don't talk like you know more than me. You're a newbie.'

 'You know I'm right though. Suga said you're limited in your abilities because you're on your own, so why wouldn't you want a partner to help you get better? I know it might be hassle having to train the new guy but I promise I'll do my best. I'm going to become the best Mech fighter this team has!'

 Surprisingly, Kageyama laughed. He leaned away from Hinata, hands on his hips. 'You think so, huh? Look, kid, the only reason I'm putting up with you is because I have no other choice, so just do as I say, don't get in my way and we won't have a problem. You won't die with me on your side.'

 'Is that what you said to the last one?' Tsukishima had appeared from down the corridor. He was alone this time. Kageyama scowled.

 'I can't help it if they won't listen to me.' Kageyama snapped. Tsukishima raised an eyebrow and turned to Hinata.

 'If you survive past your first battle with him, I'll lose my bet with Yamaguchi. That would be disappointing.' He disappeared into a side room and shut the door on them.

 'He's betting that I'll die?!' Hinata fumed. Kageyama put a hand on his shoulder.

 'Ignore him. He's trying to wind you up. He won't have made a bet on anything. Now, shut up with the questions and let's go train. The quicker we can get out there, the better.'

 ***

 Kageyama was surprisingly a lot calmer with Hinata than he'd expected him to be. He helped Hinata into the Mech, before climbing in himself, and once they'd safely strapped themselves in, he began explaining all the basics. This was all the stuff Suga had gone over with him earlier, but he let Kageyama talk because he didn't want to interrupt him and get shouted at, and because he figured Kageyama's way of doing things might be different to Suga's.

 He explained that his best ability was being able to pinpoint exactly where to strike an attack, just by looking at another Mech, the quality of its metal and build, the type of weapons it carried or how it moved, he could tell what sort of hit would cause the most damage to it.

 Hinata was immediately impressed.

 'It'll be easier for you to do that if I'm controlling where the Mech goes.' He said eagerly. Kageyama pulled a face. Hinata blinked. 'What?'

 'I like controlling the Mech.'

 'You can't do everything!'

 'You won't move fast enough.'

 'I will if we train hard enough and you tell me exactly where to go.'

 'Like you'll listen.'

 'Why wouldn't I? I have no reason not to trust you.'

 There was a pause as Kageyama glared at nothing in particular. Hinata couldn't help wondering what he was thinking and was on the verge of just asking when Kageyama finally snapped out of his daydream. 'Let's try it.'

 'Yes!' Hinata beamed, shifting his seat around so he was comfortable and could easily reach the pedals. He studied the control panel in front of him, quickly going over what did what and asked Kageyama to repeat things he'd forgotten. He took hold of the levers that moved the Mech. 'So, what first?'

 Kageyama cracked his knuckles. 'You see Tsukishima's Mech over there, the one with the numbers 11 and 12? Run at it.'

 Nervous but excited, Hinata nodded. 'Ok, what are you going to do?'

 'I'm going to break it.'

 Hinata froze. 'You can't do that! They need it!'

 Kageyama frowned. 'Maybe he'll learn not to make stupid bets.'

'You said he hadn't really made any bets!'

 'Whatever. Just run at it.'

 Nodding, Hinata took his controls and breathed in slowly. He thrust the levers forwards and the Mech jumped, startled by the sudden movement, and toppled over. Hinata screamed, sliding in his seat but being held in place by his seatbelt. Kageyama was swearing. 'You fucking idiot! What did you do!'

 'I just tried to move it!'

 There was a horrible crashing noise as the Mech hit the metal floor and Hinata felt his entire body vibrate. Still swearing, Kageyama took control and made the Mech push itself back to its feet before he shouted some more at Hinata. 'Don't fucking floor it! You have to build it up!'

 Practise didn't go so well from then on and Kageyama was getting more and more frustrated with Hinata. He was trying, he really was, but the Mech was harder to control than he'd initially thought. Maybe Suga had been a better teacher?

 He kept starting out too slowly, not building up enough momentum to make the Mech move as fast as Kageyama wanted it to go, and Kageyama kept trying to butt in and take charge, causing the Mech to halt with a screech and send them falling to the floor again, several times.

 'It can't hope with two people trying to control it at the same time! Stop!' Hinata cried with a lisp after having bitten his tongue. Kageyama pulled the Mech back up again.

 'Stop doing it wrong then!'

 'I'm trying! You're not helping!'

 'I'm telling you what to do, but you're not listening!'

 'I am listening, you're just not putting any faith in me!' Hinata snapped. He pointed to Kageyama's controls. 'You do it, to show me how it's done, and I'll copy what you do.'

 'Fine.'

 Hinata watched closely as Kageyama moved the Mech, making it look so effortless. He started out at a quick-paced jog, the ringing of the metal floor making Hinata's ears hurt, before forcing the Mech to move faster and speed quickly towards Tsukishima's Mech. He then braked hard, throwing Hinata forwards, the belt winding him slightly.

 'Got it?' Trying to get his breath back, Hinata gave him thumbs up. Kageyama moved the Mech back to the starting point and leant back in his seat, folding his arms. 'Go ahead. I won't butt in.'

 It took a while, but eventually, Hinata managed to get the hang of it. He'd been too scared to put his faith in the Mech before, which had been making him panic and trying to force the Mech to move too suddenly. Now that he was feeling calmer and Kageyama was keeping quiet, he kept doing it over and over again until it started to feel natural to him.

 Then, on one turn, he managed to make the Mech move faster than Kageyama had shown him, but found himself unable to break in time and sent their Mech straight into Tsukishima's. The noise that followed was almost deafening and Hinata had to cover his ears.

 He turned to Kageyama, expecting him to be furious, but he looked shocked. Even though he'd bashed his head in the fall, he didn't seem bothered. He was staring at Hinata. 'How did you do that?'

 'What?' Hinata groaned, feeling a dull ache in his knee where it had collided with the control panel.

 'How did you make it move that fast?'

 'I don't know, I was just doing what you showed me.'

 'Try it again.' Kageyama instructed, but was cut off by a wailing siren.

 Startled, he looked around, before pulling the Mech into a standing position and walking it over to the centre of the room. He unstrapped his belt and pressed a button on the panel which undid the clasps holding the roof of the Mech down. He pushed it up and leaned out, watching as Daichi and the others all ran into the room.

 Red lights were flashing and the siren kept going and Hinata could hear people shouting in the corridors. 'What's happening? What's going on?'

 'Kageyama, move out of the way! Get back!' Daichi was shouting as he and Suga climbed into their own Mech. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were pushing theirs into a standing position with Noya and Tanaka's help. 'It's a surprise attack from Nekoma! We need to go, now!'

 'I'm coming!' Kageyama yelled. Daichi shook his head, strapping himself in.

 'You aren't allowed! Stay here with Hinata.' He couldn't say anything more because Suga pulled down the top. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had done the same, now safely inside, and Noya and Tanaka were clambering into their own.

 Two other men ran in, Hinata didn't recognise them. Ignoring both Kageyama and Hinata, the two men ran across the room and disappeared into the control room.

 An orange light started flashing as the metal door that separated their Area from the outside began to rise. The harsh sunlight poured in and Hinata had to shut his eyes. He could hear the other Mech's clanking their way outside.

 After five minutes, the Mech's couldn't be heard. The alarm kept on wailing, though. It was hurting Hinata's head.

 'We're going.'

 Hinata's eyes snapped open. 'What?! We're not allowed! We're not ready!'

 'It doesn't matter,' Kageyama said, pulling the top back down. The light from outside didn't hurt his eyes now, thanks to the tinted Mech windows. 'I'm going to turn off the communications, I don't need Takeda and Ukai shouting at me right now.'

 'I don't know how to fight!' Hinata screeched, trying to stop Kageyama from moving the Mech. He pushed him away.

 'You don't have to! I can do it by myself! I have been doing it alone this far.' He shouted, and forced the Mech to walk forwards. The communication system on the panel began to flash, meaning Captain Takeda and Major Ukai were trying to get in touch with them, but Kageyama ignored it and kept moving. Hinata reached to press it but Kageyama slapped his hand away. 'Stop it. Look, kid, you want to fight, yeah? Well, here's your first experience. You can sit and watch me, and watch what I do, and then practise that after we get back. I'll deal with the shit from Daichi and the others.'

 'I don't know about this.' Hinata was worried. The closer they got to the exit, the more his heart was pounding against his chest.

 'Practising in the Area means nothing,' Kageyama told him. 'It's nothing like battling out here. You won't learn that way, you have to fight. It's all safety and precautions when Daichi makes us practise, "don't hit each other too hard, don't move your Mech too fast, you'll get whiplash." It's not realistic. This isn't a game. They are out to kill and if you don't fight with the same intentions, you won't win.'

 The wastelands were not what Hinata had expected. Honeslty, he hadn't given too much thought to what they might look like because the idea scared him, but he hadn't expected this. He found himself facing the ruins of once must have been a majestic city, skyscrapers stretching up as far as the eye could see, buildings made entirely out of glass, now mostly shattered, billboards advertising products he would never get the chance to try, and the ground, all flat stone concrete, was covered in other metal vehicles Hinata didn't know the names of, rubbish and debris, sides of buildings had been completely knocked away, and there was so much blood. It wasn't fresh, there were just stains everywhere. No bodies to be seen, thankfully.

 Hinata had expected flat, barren land with nothing in sight.

 Seeing the city made him sad. He didn't know anything about this war, why it had started or who had started it, or even when, but there must have been a time before, a time he would never, ever know, when humans lived free and happy in this city, without fear or regret, with families they remembered.

 'How long as the war been going on?'

 'I don't know. Years.'

 'Haven't they told you?'

 'Not really.' Kageyama said. 'They said it's better we don't know the gruesome details of the past, and only to focus on changing the future.'

 'Surely they should tell us?'

'What's the point? The past is gone. We can't do anything about it.' Kageyama was moving the Mech forwards at a quick pace. Hinata could see the other Karasuno members out in front. As they passed side streets, he spotted other Crow Mechs heading in the same direction, obviously members of different teams.

 'So, you don't know anything about it? What about the enemy? Who started the war? Why?'

 'I'm really not in the mood to give you a history lesson, Hinata.'

 'Please.'

 Kageyama was not impressed, but sighed. 'Uh, I don't know how long ago this was, way before we were born, there were four leading groups, I don't know what they lead, countries or nations or whatever, but there were the Crow's Allegiance, Nekoma, Aoba Johsai and Dateko. The other three wanted to abolish human rights and bring back slavery and make the world a place for only the rich. Of course, the Crow's didn't like that and fought against them. I'm not sure how exactly the war started but the other three groups did this to the city and others like it. I haven't seen what state other parts of the world are in, but I've been told they're just as bad. There are several Crow bases spread around, but this is the main one.

 'They went around destroying the city, killing people and kidnapping people and torturing. The Crow's rescued as many as they could but there are still hundreds of thousands of people still out there, some still hiding in this city, because there's no way out. We have to send out search teams.'

 'How  do they survive?'

 'There's obviously things around for them to eat,' Kageyama said. 'I see plenty of wild animals. You came from this wasteland, you must have found something. You don't look malnourished.'

 'Did you come from here too?'

 'Dunno. Must have done.' He shrugged.

 'But the General said a girl had been found in a family home.'

 'There's still areas that are populated, people keep moving about, trying to survive. It's human instinct. A family home doesn't necessarily have to be made out of bricks.'

 Before Hinata could ask any more questions, an explosion sent their Mech skidding to one side. Swearing, Kageyama pushed the Mech forwards. Hinata twisted in his seat to look out the side window, watching the fire as it curled in on itself, the smoke twisting its way into the orange sky.

 'Where did that come from?!'

 'It's a surprise attack, Nekoma Mechs could be hiding anywhere.'

 The com system was flashing again. Kageyama groaned and hit it with the palm of his head. Immediately, Daichi's voice filled the cockpit. 'Kageyama! What the hell do you think you're doing!? I gave you clear instructions not to follow us!'

 'Where are Nekoma?' Kageyama ignoring Daichi's scolding. 'We almost got hit by a bomb, but we got away.'

 'Is Hinata with you?' Suga's voice added.

 'Hello.' Hinata didn't know what else to say. He heard both of them groan.

 'You had better keep him safe, Kageyama!' Daichi said. 'Takeda's informed me there are four Nekoma Mechs in our area, more have spread out but those are for the other teams to take on. That's one Mech each, okay? See if you can find the one that just tried to attack you.'

 'I'm on it.'

 'Hinata! Listen to Kageyama!' Suga began to say something else, but Kageyama shut the com system off.

 'Yeah, yeah, he knows.'

 Just as Hinata was about to ask where the enemy Mech might be, a loud bang from behind made him jump. Kageyama span the Mech around and they found themselves face-to-face with a red-and-white Nekoma Mech. It looked really similar to their own, only with clawed hands.

 Immediately, the enemy Mech sprung forwards, moving quickly, and struck at their Mech. Kageyama was fast to block them, but took his hands off the Mech movement controls, which made the Mech lose balance and stumble backwards. Hinata went to steady it but Kageyama was already there, doing it instead.

 Attack after attack came their way and no matter how much Hinata tried to help, Kageyama kept stopping him. It was definitely impressive that Kageyama could keep this thing from doing damage to their Mech single-handedly, but he was struggling to keep the Mech stable and he let down all their defences when he tried to throw a punch back, which meant the enemy could strike out and send them hurtling backwards.

 'I thought you were supposed to be good at this.' Hinata hissed through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the stinging in the back of his head where it had smacked against his seat. Kageyama swore at him, quickly moving to get the Mech upright for what felt like the millionth time that day.

 'I have to keep stopping you!' He snapped angrily.

 'Well, don't! You don't have to do this alone anymore, Kageyama. I'm here to help you.'  Hinata took hold of the controls. 'He's coming towards us, quickly, where can we hit him that will take him down?'

 The Mech was moving towards them fast. Kageyama was staring at it, his eyes moving rapidly as he scanned it. 'Move behind it.'

 Hinata shifted the Mech to one side. The floor was different than in the base, it didn't make the Mech rattle like the grates did. He found it a lot easier to control, even if he did have to dodge piles of rubble. He managed to get out of the enemies way just in time as they shot some kind of explosive towards them. Hinata hurried the Mech as far away from the blast as possible, twisting the top of the Mech so Kageyama could keep looking for an advantage point. It meant he was running backwards now, but there was a beeping radar system on the panel telling him if he was close to colliding with anything.

 'There's a damage in one of the legs,' Kageyama said suddenly. He turned to Hinata. 'I'm going to put my faith in you, and if you fail me, I will fucking kill you.'

 'I can do it. What do you need?' Hinata said, trying to look certain with himself even though he was actually terrified. If he messed this up, he didn't know whether to be more scared of what the enemy would do or what Kageyama would do.

 'Run as fast as you can towards the Mech, like you did before. I'm going to shoot at the leg as we pass. I need you to be fast, because we need to get to them before they can defend themselves. They must know that leg is weak because they keep that side turning away from us.'

 Kageyama began readying the firing weapons. Hinata didn't really know how to use these and was eager to watch what Kageyama was doing, but he shook his head and made himself focus. He had to do what he'd done before. He breathed out slowly and began moving the Mech. Kageyama was talking to him quickly, telling him to speed up and speed up, and head towards the left side of the enemy Mech.

 'Now!' Kageyama screamed and Hinata wrenched the levers forwards and the Mech moved even faster this time, and, before the enemy could even try to bring their arms up to shield themselves, Kageyama had unleashed a rain of bullets upon them, hitting the injured leg straight at the joint and shattering it. The Mech toppled, and Hinata pulled backwards as Kageyama kept firing, the bullets shattering through the cockpit glass.

 The bullets stopped and a ringing silence followed. Kageyama, breathing heavily and looking a little sweaty, turned to talk to Hinata and froze. Hinata had his eyes shut tight. 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DID YOU HAVE YOUR EYES SHUT THE WHOLE TIME?!'

 Hinata nodded, his eyes still shut.

 'WHY?'

 'You were telling me exactly what to do and where to go, so I just trusted you.' Hinata said. His entire body was shaking. 'I don't want to look.'

 'Why?'

 'They're dead, aren't they?'

 Kageyama didn't answer. He reached out and released Hinata's hands from control of the Mech. They had been grasped around the levers so tightly that they were turning white.

 He then spun the Mech around and began stomping it back towards the base. 'You can look now. We're heading back.'

 Hinata opened his eyes. His mouth was dry. Kageyama looked at him. 'You're pale.'

 Not feeling up to speaking, Hinata just nodded. He kept his mouth shut until they had gotten back into the base, where they found the others all waiting for them.

 The moment Kageyama had lifted the top off the Mech and was ready to climb out, Hinata threw up all over his partner's lap.

 Both Noya and Tanaka thought this was the most hilarious thing they had seen all day, Daichi looked worried and Tanaka had to rush forwards to restrain Kageyama, who had immediately jumped out of the Mech and was now threatening to climb back into kill Hinata.

 The two strangers from earlier were stood behind Daichi. One of them, a tall, broad man with slicked back blonde hair, approached Kageyama, who was still fuming and wiping sick off of his suit. 'Kageyama! You disobeyed orders!'

 'Whatever.'

 'Don't speak to Ukai like that.' Daichi snapped. He was watching Hinata climbing out of the Mech, helped by Noya. He was wobbly on his feet and still extremely pale. 'Should we send him to the Medical Ward?'

 'He's fine, it's just the shock.' Major Ukai said and patted Hinata on the shoulder. 'I have to ask, how did you make the Mech move like that? I've never seen someone sync so perfectly on their first try.'

 'I just did what Kageyama told me to do.'

 'He had his eyes shut.' Kageyama said. Noya and Tanaka gasped.

 'WHAT?'

 'Why did you shut your eyes?' Noya asked. Tsukishima was stood behind him, looking unconvinced. Yamaguchi looked shocked.

 'Kageyama was telling me what to do and I trusted he wouldn't lead me wrong. I was too scared to look,' Hinata looked down at his feet, feeling a bit ashamed. He was a soldier. Death wasn't supposed to bother him. 'I didn't want to see them die.'

 'You were incredible, you have to show us how you did it.' The other unknown guy said. Hinata had to guess it was Captain Takeda. He looked much older than everyone else, in his mid-thirties, probably, and wore thick-rimmed spectacles. 'I can't believe you synced together straight away. This is wonderful. The General will be thrilled.'

 'We won't tell him just yet,' Ukai interrupted. Takeda's smiled faltered. 'They've only done it once, it might have been a fluke. We've got to test to make sure they can repeat it.'

 'Can I sit down first, I don't feel great-' He paused, frowning, as he looked around the group. He and Kageyama were rather unscathed, a few bumps and bruises, but the rest of the team all looked they'd taken a thrashing. Tanaka had a large lump forming over his right eye and had a huge purple bruise down his left arm, Noya, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were all covered in scratches and cuts, which they hadn't bothered to bandage up, and Daichi's face was covered in blood from what looked like it could be a broken nose. Hinata had been too interested in the new arrivals and getting out of the Mech to have noticed.

 Suga wasn't there.

 'Your nose. You're all hurt.' Hinata stammered, feeling terrible they'd all been talking about him.

 'It's not broken, don't worry.' Daichi said, trying to smile. 'It's just a little blood, it's fine. I was holding a cloth to it until you came.'

 'How long have you been back?' Kageyama asked.

 'We got back about five minutes before you did. We had to retreat, more of them came of nowhere and Suga got really injured.'

 Hinata gasped, looking around. 'Where is he? Is he ok?'

 Daichi raised a hand. 'He's been taken straight to the Medical Ward, but he'll survive. It's nothing life threatening. Four more of them came and attacked at once and sent a shattered pipe straight through the cockpit window,' he turned and pointed to his Mech, where the window was completely smashed up. 'It went straight through Suga's shoulder blade.'

 'We had to haul them out of there,' Yamaguchi said. 'While Noya and Tanaka bulldozed them out of the way. We were going to get in contact with you but we didn't have the time.'

 'It was more important to get Suga back.' Daichi said.

 'Don't worry about it, we were fine.' Kageyama shrugged. He wrinkled his nose. 'I'm going to wash this suit and take a shower. Disgusting.'

 As he walked away, Ukai called after him. 'It's lucky we're not punishing you, Tobio, you've got Hinata to thank for that. But we will, next time you ignore an order.'

 'Fine.'

 Kageyama disappeared into the washroom.

 'Are you sure Suga will be ok?'

 'Yeah, it's just in his shoulder. He'll heal. His arm might be a bit stiff for a while, so it's probably likely I'll be doing most of the piloting.' He laughed without humour and rubbed the back of his neck. 'Don't fret, he'll be back with us shortly. You need to focus on doing that quick move again.'

 'Assuming it's not a fluke.' Tsukishima added. 


	3. Chapter 3

 Unfortunately, Tsukishima was correct.

 Whatever Hinata had managed to do on the battlefield was clearly just a onetime thing as he could not, no matter how much he tried, recreate it in Area 12. He was certain, for a while, it was because he didn't have Kageyama at his side. Instead, Daichi was with him, trying to tell him what to do and hoping Hinata would do what he did before, but he kept screwing up and going wrong.

 When Kageyama finally joined him in the Mech again, he was still bitter about Hinata throwing up on him and was just snapping orders, which Hinata just found unnerving. He tried shutting his eyes and listening to Kageyama, but whenever he did this, Kageyama would shout at him.

 'You can't do it with your eyes shut!'

 General Ukai had heard what had happened and had appeared in their Area for a short time, hoping to see them recreate it, but was disappointed. He ended up scolding Kageyama for disobeying orders and said he would demote him to kitchen staff if he continued in this manner.

 They had a meeting with Major Ukai and Captain Takeda, who explained that the surprise attack from Nekoma had been a trick to keep Crow Mechs occupied while they raided the city and kidnapped more people still hiding out there, they hadn't even been planning on attacking their base at all.

 'Reports from other teams say they saw Nekoma Mechs rounding up groups of people on the west side of the city,' Major Ukai told them. 'Unfortunately, they were overpowered and  could not rescue anyone.'

 'What will Nekoma do to them?' Hinata asked.

 'It's unknown.' Ukai responded honestly. 'But this afternoon you are all, apart from Hinata and Kageyama, ordered to go out and search for any more survivors. We need to get to them before the enemy do.'

 'Will you be ok without Suga?' Hinata turned to look at Daichi. He was all patched up now and had a large white plaster across his nose. He smiled warmly at Hinata.

 'It's just a search-and-rescue, I shouldn't need to fight, so it'll be fine.' He waved his hand lazily. 'I'm going to go visit Suga in the Medical Ward after this meeting is over, if you'd like to come?'

 Hinata nodded.

 For another hour, Major Ukai continued to talk about the rescue mission and pointed at a large map, which Hinata guessed was of the city, and spoke about which areas needed searching. He found himself zoning out for most of it, his feet going numb from being sat cross-legged on the floor. Eventually, when he heard everyone else getting up, he clambered to his feet and did a little jog on the spot to try and get rid of the pins-and-needles.

 Daichi was stood at his side, waiting for him to finish. Hinata laughed a bit, feeling embarrassed, he must have looked weird doing his little jig. Daichi didn't say anything and indicated for him to follow. Noya and Tanaka joined them.

 They took several different tunnels, Hinata quickly lost his way, and finally, they entered the Medical Ward. It was as large as the room that Hinata had seen on his first day, the one that held all the helicopters and jets, but it was much more friendly and welcoming. It was all white and blue, the staff all wore that robin's egg shade Hinata remembered, and the room was filled with rows and rows of white-sheeted beds and strange medical equipment. Several of the beds had curtains drawn around them.

 Despite the amount of people in here, it was weirdly quiet. Everyone spoke very softly, some almost whispering, and most of the machinery that was switched on only gave out minute beeps or dull humming sounds.

 Suga was somewhere in the middle of the room. He was sat up in bed, his right arm in a sling, his shoulder bandaged up. He didn't look too beaten up, just a scratch over his eye. He grinned happily when he saw them approaching, putting down the book he had been reading. Daichi grasped his hand for a moment, squeezing hard, before he let it go and stepped back, beaming. 'I'm glad to see you're alright. I'm really sorry, Suga, it was my fault-'

 A raised hand from Suga made Daichi fall silent. 'It wasn't anyone's fault, Daichi. I don't want you to blame yourself. These things happen. I'm fine, the Doctors say it didn't even go in that deep, so it'll heal soon enough. I can still move my arm, it hurts a little, but they recommended I keep it as still as possible for the time being.'

 'I'll get those dirty Nekoma bastards for you, Suga.' Noya said from the end of the bed. Suga laughed, admiring Noya's passion. Tanaka agreed with Noya by nodding his head. 

'That's kind of you, Noya.'

'Noya, you really shouldn't fight for vengeance, you know.' An unknown voice said from behind Hinata. He jumped, twisting on the spot, to find a very tall, very broad man stood behind him, wearing the robin's egg staff uniform. He also ended up jumping and then bowed low to Hinata. 'I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!'

 'T-that's fine.' Hinata said, watching this stranger fluster over his words in his attempt to apologise even more.

 Had he seen this man from across the room, with no idea of how he acted in person, he would not have expected this fumbling mess. He looked quite mature, he was the only person around here (that wasn't an old man) he'd seen with an actual beard. His height and stature made him look quite intimidating but apparently this was not the case at all. 

 'Asahi, calm down, it's fine.' Daichi was smiling. He pushed Hinata forwards. 'Hinata, this is one of our old members, Asahi Azumane. He works in the Medical Ward now, I think I told you this? Asahi, this is Kageyama's new partner, Shouyou Hinata.'

 They shook hands.

 'It's nice to meet you, Asahi.'

 'You too. I can't believe you work with Kageyama. That's scary.' The look on Asahi's face told Hinata that he was actually quite terrified by Kageyama. 'Doesn't he frighten you?'

 Hinata shook his head, frowning. How could someone this tall and muscular be afraid of Kageyama? Sure, he could be quite brash and aggressive, but there was no way he could do anything to hurt someone of Asahi's size. 'No, not really. He's got an attitude, but I can handle being shouted at.'

 'I don't like being shouted at.' Asahi mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. He had long brown hair twisted into a neat bun at the back of his head.

 'What made you stop being a Mech Pilot?' Hinata found himself asking before he could stop himself. Instantly, all eyes turned in his direction and he could see Daichi shaking his head furiously out the corner of his eye. Immediately, he realised he'd made a grave error and slapped his hand over his mouth, averting his gaze from Asahi's.

 He knew it was a taboo subject, Daichi had made that clear when he'd asked about Asahi the first time, but Hinata's curiosity had gotten the better of him and he'd blurted out what was in his head before thinking it through.

 Originally, he'd pictured something really bad to have happened to Asahi, because when they had said Medical Ward, he had imagined Asahi in lying a coma somewhere, not as a Medical Nurse, so something in his brain had told him 'it couldn't have been that bad, just ask'. Apparently, it was still a no-go area of conversation and seeing all the others staring at him like he'd just kicked a baby, he was suddenly terrified he was going to make Asahi mad. For all Hinata knew, he could have a hidden dark side.

 Thankfully, Asahi didn't seem upset by the question. He was smiling. 'Fighting just wasn't for me.'

 'Ah, sorry! I shouldn't have asked.' Hinata stammered, feeling his face heat up. He hoped he hadn't made Asahi feel uncomfortable, it was obviously something he didn't want to go into detail about.

 'No, no, it's fine, I would be curious too.' Asahi shook his head. 'I guess fighting just scares me. I'm a bit of a coward.'

 'Don't say that.' Noya snapped immediately, his heavy eyebrows knitted together. Asahi looked a little shocked by Noya's attitude, but said nothing in retaliation. Noya remained in the same stiff position, full-on staring Asahi in the eye, until Asahi became flustered and looked away.

 Hinata couldn't help but wonder why Noya was so annoyed about Asahi calling himself a coward, it wasn't that harsh of an insult for himself, was it?

 'Anyway,' Suga cut in. 'I hear you're being sent out again? Will you be alright without me, I can get up and come with-'

 'No chance,' Daichi said, pushing Suga back down onto his pillows. 'It's just a search and rescue mission, it'll be fine. We won't need to fight. You need to get as much rest as possible.'

 'I wish I could go.' Hinata sighed.

 'We don't want you throwing up again.' Tanaka snickered and Noya joined in. Suga started laughing and Hinata suspected his face was probably same shade as his hair by this point. Asahi patted him reassuringly on the shoulder, saying he shouldn't be embarrassed about throwing up, those Mechs were pretty scary after all. Daichi just looked faintly amused.

 'I wish I had been there to see the look on Kageyama's face,' Suga chuckled. 'He must have been livid.'

 'He was fuming.' Tanaka wiped away a non-existent tear. 'I heard him grumbling in the shower. Do it again next time, Hinata, let Suga see.'

 'I'm not going to throw up! I'm taking this seriously!' Hinata tried to pump himself up but standing next to Asahi didn't make him feel any bigger so he stopped and let himself deflate. 'I'm going to the best Mech pilot this team has ever had!'

 'As enthusiastic as ever.' Daichi grinned. He turned and clasped hands with Suga briefly. 'We'll leave you to get some rest, I'll be round tonight to let you know how the mission went and what's happening after. If you need me, send Asahi.'

 'Got it.'

 They bid farewell to Suga and Asahi and made their way back to Area 12. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were practising in their Mech. Hinata could see Major Ukai stood in the doorway of the control room, talking to who he could only presume to be Captain Takeda, who was out of sight. Kageyama approached them the moment they entered, getting really close to Daichi, who backed away a little.

 'You've got to let me go on this mission.'

 'No, Kageyama, you've already been told this.' Daichi's face looked stern. It was obvious Kageyama wasn't going to be able to sway him. 'It's not even up to me, both General and Major Ukai have said you're forbidden on going on this mission, so that's the final word. Don't disobey them, I let you off with a warning but they won't be as lenient. I don't want you getting kicked off the team.'

 Grumbling to himself, Kageyama stormed off and disappeared into the sleeping area. Hinata watched him go, his heart heavy. He felt as though it was his fault Kageyama couldn't go on anymore missions, if he wasn't part of this team, they would have probably continued to let Kageyama fight without a partner.

 'You two go join Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, I want you raring and ready to go by the time we need to head off on this mission.' Daichi instructed Noya and Tanaka, who nodded eagerly and sped off towards their Mech. He then turned to face Hinata. 'I don't know if Kageyama will be up to training with you, but it's worth asking him. The quicker you two can sync properly, the quicker you'll both be back on the battlefield. Just keep telling him that, I know being cooped up here will drive him crazy.'

 'Are you sure you'll be ok without Suga?'

 'Yes, yes, stop worrying.' Daichi waved his hand lazily at Hinata. a habit Hinata had noticed he'd picked up from Suga. There was a large nasty-looking bruise forming underneath the bandage on his nose. 'Ukai wouldn't let me out alone without a partner if he didn't think it was safe.'

 'What if the other teams attack?'

 Daichi shook his head. 'We've done plenty of rescue missions before without any problems. The enemy won't attack unless we get too close to their bases, which we know to avoid.'

 'Don't they have spies, though? People lying in wait?'

 'Probably, but so do we. We have advanced enough tracking to know if there are any enemies approaching. If a Mech comes within fifty feet of ours, Takeda will inform us and we'll immediately pull back.' 

 'Wouldn't it make sense to attack?'

 'No, not if we're trying to rescue people. That's our main focus, getting them back to safety. Plus it's only our group being sent out on this mission, according to the General, so we wouldn't have the man power.' Daichi patted Hinata on the head. 'Don't worry about it. Go talk to Kageyama.'

 While Daichi walked off to talk to Major Ukai, Hinata headed for the sleeping area, where he found Kageyama lying on a bottom bunk, staring at the bunk above him. He looked like he was concentrating intensely and didn't look up when Hinata entered the room.

 'What are you doing?'

 Kageyama frowned and turned his head slightly to scowl at Hinata for disturbing him. 'It's none of your business.'

 'Want to train with me?'

 'No, I want to go on this mission.' Kageyama huffed, turning his attention back to the bunk above. Hinata moved over and sat on the edge of the bed. Kageyama didn't move away from him but a small vein throbbed in his forehead. 'I tried talking to Ukai about it, but he wouldn't listen to me. I said I should be partnered up with Daichi while Suga is in the Medical Ward but I'm not allowed out at all.'

 Hinata leaned forwards so that his head was in Kageyama's direct line of sight. He didn't look impressed. 'You know, Kageyama, if we keep practising and learn to sync properly, we'll be able to go out again in no time.'

 'Go away.'

 Undeterred, Hinata bent even closer to Kageyama and made the tip of their noses squish together. Kageyama looked absolutely horrified and tried to sit up, ready to push Hinata away, but Hinata put his hands on Kageyama's shoulders and held him down. 'I'm not going to go until you agree to train with me. I want to be out there as much as you do, so stop being grumpy and stubborn and come get in the Mech with me.'

 With as much force as he could muster, Kageyama pulled himself up, making Hinata topple backwards. Slightly red in the face, which Hinata assumed was from his anger, Kageyama got to his feet and rounded on Hinata. 'Fine! But don't ever do that to me again.'

 Hinata practically sprung to his feet, beaming from ear to ear. 'You got it! Let's go!'

 Together, they headed back out into Area 12 and stopped by the side of their Mech. In the middle of the room, Noya and Tanaka were spinning violently in a circle while Daichi, Ukai and Takeda watched, all looking completely done with the two of them.

 'What are they doing?' Hinata asked at no one in particular. It was Tsukishima that answered. He was leaning against a railing near the entrance, watching them spin. Yamaguchi was not with him, for once.

 'Something went a bit funny with their Mech and Tanaka said he could fix it, and now they won't stop spinning.' Tsukishima said, surprising Hinata. He was so used to Tsukishima giving snarky or sarcastic responses, a genuine reply was not what had expected. Apparently, Tsukishima was enjoying watching the two boys suffer in their spinning Mech to find time for a witty response. 'If you listen closely, you can hear them screaming.'

 'Are you just going to let them spin forever?'

 'Yamaguchi has gone to fetch help.' Daichi sighed, walking up to where the three of them were stood. 'Kiyoko should know how to stop it.'

 'Just looking at them spinning makes me want to be sick.' Hinata said, his face slightly green. Kageyama stepped away from him immediately.

 Just then, Yamaguchi hurried back into the room, followed by the pretty dark-haired girl Hinata had met on his first day. She took one look at the spinning Mech, let out a small sigh and walked straight towards them, not even fazed by the fact that if the Mech hit her, she could be sent flying across the room.

 To Hinata's amazement, she managed to dodge the swinging arms with ease each time they came at her and she knelt down, getting as close to the Mech as possible, did something Hinata couldn't quite see and the Mech came to a halt so suddenly he heard the two boys inside crash into each other and shriek. 

 Kiyoko reached up and undid the clasps holding the top down and pushed it back to reveal Tanaka and Noya in a heap on top of each other, looking very disorientated and unable to push themselves up. Noya was babbling something no one could quite understand.

 'At least they didn't throw up.' The snarky Tsukishima remarks were back. Hinata pulled a face.

 'You snapped a wire.' Kiyoko was telling Tanaka and Noya, who were being helped out of their Mech by Daichi and Ukai. They were very wobbly on their feet and needed to be held up until they got their balance back. 'It can be easily fixed.'

 She climbed inside their Mech and had Takeda pass her up a tool box.

 'Let me back in the Mech,' Tanaka was mumbling at the ceiling, lolling on Daichi's shoulder. 'I want to be in the Mech with Kiyoko.'

 'I don't think she wants you in there with her.' Daichi said, lowering Tanaka into a sitting position. 'I don't think she's very happy you were fiddling with the Mech wiring.'

 'Did you do it just so Kiyoko would come?' Ukai asked, raising his eyebrow. Tanaka muttered under his breath. 'I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that.'

 'Kiyoko never comes to see me anymore.' Tanaka said louder. Everyone groaned.

 Kiyoko was climbing out of the Mech. Takeda held out his hand to help her down. She instead just handed him her tool box and got down to the floor without a single issue. 'It's fixed. I'll be going now.'

 As she passed by Tanaka, he reached out and tried to grab her leg, but she side stepped him and continued on her way. Hinata thought Tanaka would be upset by being completely blanked, but he seemed over the moon. 'Did you see that? She didn't kick me! I love it when Kiyoko ignores me, she turns me-'

 'Ok, that's enough.' Daichi cut across him. 'If you purposely break a Mech again just to get Kiyoko down here I will make you go out onto the wastelands with only the clothes on your back.'

 'You could have at least done it without me in the Mech with you, bro.' Noya still looked woozy. 'I'm going to go lie down before the mission.'

 Everyone watched him totter off.

 After his little incident with the Mech, Ukai and Daichi agreed that Tanaka was to sit on the sidelines for a while and watch the others training, which Tanaka wasn't best pleased about. He complained loudly the entire time, constantly trying to pick a fight with Tsukishima who couldn't help but show off his skills in his own Mech, while Yamaguchi laughed, until eventually Daichi said he could take Suga's seat for a little bit until Noya had woken up from his nap.

 There were only a couple of hours to go until the others had to go on their rescue mission and the closer the clock ticked towards it, the more agitated Kageyama became. He and Hinata had actually been doing ok together, to begin with- they still had not managed to sync the same way they had when they'd first gone out together, but they were certainly improving. Hinata had much better control of the Mech movements now and could make it run at a fair speed without stalling.

 However, once time began to pass and Kageyama could see the others stopping every now and again to talk to each other about the mission, he became fidgety and distracted, obviously itching to go join them when the time came.

 Noya woke up an hour before they had to leave and jumped in his Mech with Tanaka and they began stomping around the room, just to make the noise of metal on metal vibrate around the room. Daichi hit them with his own Mech to make them stop.

 'It's only a rescue mission,' Hinata tried to comfort Kageyama, who was dead-eyeing Tsukishima's Mech like it was to blame for his punishment. 'I doubt we're missing much. You prefer fighting anyway, don't you?'

 Kageyama turned to look at Hinata, his face completely void of any kind of emotion. 'Do you really think that is why I go out there? To kill people? Do you think I enjoy it?'

 'W-well, I just thought, you said-'

 'I hate being called King of the Battlefield. I hate people thinking I enjoy killing other people. I'm just doing my job.'

 'But you're always so eager to go out...'

 'I want this stupid war done with. I'm tired of living like this, and being stuck inside, useless and unable to help with anything drives me crazy.'

 'Then why make such a big deal about piloting the Mech yourself?'

 Kageyama didn't answer this. He instead, un-strapped himself and lifted the top and began to climb out. Hinata watched him go.

 Instead of following him, Hinata decided to keep practising in the Mech. He didn't need Kageyama with him just for running around a bit, although he felt oddly lonely without him breathing down his neck and constantly criticising him, not that he particularly enjoyed that. He just felt a sense of safety and comfort when he knew Kageyama was right there, by his side, because no matter how badly he screwed up, Kageyama would be in there straight away to fix the problem.

 He knew he needed to get a bit more self-confidence and learn how to tackle these problems by himself as well, but it was just reassuring to know he had someone else there. He wanted Kageyama to feel the same way about him. He didn't Kageyama to see him as a hindrance or an annoyance, but as a team member and someone who would always have his back.

 Eventually, it came time for the team to leave on their mission. Hinata said goodbye to them still inside his Mech and shielded his eyes as the metal door went up, letting in the harsh light from outside.

 Daichi led the team out, piloting the Mech skilfully by himself, following by the other two. The door closed behind them and Hinata was left alone in the training room, wondering what he should do with himself. He'd been practising all day in the Mech, he felt he'd probably done enough and still didn't feel like he was making that much progress, not without Kageyama anyway. Their main goal was to sync.

   He ended up wandering into the control room where both Major Ukai and Captain Takeda were seated. The room had two walls just completely made up of computer screens. Some showed camera views from outside their base, nothing but barren wasteland and crumbling buildings, many just had green screens with blinking lights on and there were a few showing inside the Mechs of the team who had just left. There was an empty Mech in the top right hand corner, which he guessed was his and Kageyama's.

 Both men were seated at control panels which had ten times as many buttons as the Mech panels and just looking at them confused Hinata. They both had headsets on, with microphones attached, and Takeda was talking to Daichi, confirming that the path around him was clear.

 'Are these their locations?' Hinata asked, pointing to the blinking lights.

 'Yes, we can keep a track of their movements.' Takeda responded, not taking his eyes off the screen. The glasses he was wearing kept flashing as he turned his head. 'If another Mech comes within fifty feet of them, it will show up on the screen, although Kiyoko is working on improving our tracking range to a mile. There's no cameras further into the city,  so we can't tell them exactly where the enemy Mechs are, only the direction they're heading. We keep trying to send people out to map the city but it's so big it's difficult to do, plus it's not worth the risk.'

 'Have they found anyone yet?'

 'They've been out about five minutes,' Ukai said, lighting a cigarette he'd just rolled. Hinata wrinkled his nose at the smell but didn't complain. 'Give them chance. They'll have to head towards the edges of the city, the centre has been long since abandoned. That's the major war zone, so no one would be foolish enough to try and hide out there.'

 Hinata nodded, watching his team members on the screens. Noya and Tanaka were laughing, Hinata couldn't hear what they were saying, but they seemed to be sharing one hilarious joke as they both were almost in tears. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were just talking quietly, Tsukishima kept pointing to something on the control panel and Yamaguchi would nod. It wasn't particularly interesting viewing material. Daichi was one hundred percent focused, still talking to Takeda through the headset.

 'It must be horrible if someone got injured and you saw it.' Hinata said. Ukai nodded.

 'We saw Suga get hurt the other day. It wasn't pretty.' He took a drag on his cigarette. 'I've seen plenty of people killed. This isn't the best job in the world.'

 'I bet they'd say that about fighting.' Captain Takeda said.

 Nothing much happened for the next half hour and Hinata finally got bored of staring at all the screens (they were starting to hurt his eyes) and he left the control room. He ended up wandering around the base, unsure what to do with himself, tempted to exit Area 12 and go for a walk but was certain if he did that he'd never find his way back. Kageyama was asleep on his bunk when Hinata peered in, hoping for some company.

 Disappointed, he ended up spending the next hour or so just sat tossing a ball he'd found in a box in the corner of the room at the wall, his mind racing about the best way he and Kageyama could sync up perfectly again.

 Something in his head told him that maybe they needed to be in a proper life-or-death situation, but there was no way they would be able to test out that theory because they wouldn't be allowed back out again until they'd synced.

 A cry from the control room made him jump.

 Immediately, he jumped to his feet and ran into the room. Takeda and Ukai were both shouting instructions down their microphones, but they were talking too fast and overlapping each other so much Hinata couldn't quite take any of it in. Instead, he looked at the screens and his heart sunk in his chest.

 All the little dots that represented his team members were surrounded by twenty or more enemy Mechs. He could tell the difference because the enemy dots were red. Warning lights were flashing on the control panel and he could see the five of them all panic-stricken and shouting unknown words.

 His attention turned to Daichi, who was covered in sweat and moving rapidly, trying to move the Mech and fight at the same time, and it was evident he was struggling.

 'I'll go get Kageyama, we'll go help-'

 'No, Hinata, there are too many. It would just be a suicide mission.' Ukai snapped. 'I've already contacted the General and he's sending out the Special Forces to help them retreat. We can't fight that many.'

 'How did this happen? Didn't you see them coming?'

 'They somehow managed to block their signal until the last minute!'

 Hinata slammed his hand on the control panel. 'You've got to let me and Kageyama go! We've got to at least try! We can't leave our team behind! They'll die!'

 'No, Hinata, General Ukai has forbidden you go. I can't disobey his command.' Ukai looked stressed. 'I can't keep talking to you, I need to get the boys out of there. If you want to be helpful, run and tell Asahi to prepare some beds and medical equipment.'

 Hinata stared at the screens. 'Is someone hurt?'

 Noya was bleeding. It was a weird grey colour on the monitor, as colour didn't seem to register very well with this technology, but it was unmistakably blood. The side of his Mech had been crushed in and something had cut him from his shoulder blade down to his stomach. He didn't seem to be letting his bother him, his face was set and he was still swinging his Mech around, fighting back.

 Without even looking at how the other three were doing, Hinata turned on his heel and sped off as fast as his legs could carry him, stopping when he ran into the first person outside Area 12 and asked for directions to the Medical Ward.

 When he finally reached it, after taking two wrong turns, he skidded to a halt by Suga's bed, wiping sweat from his forehead (the tunnels were hot) and paused to catch his breath. Suga was sat up in bed, watching him, looking scared. 'What is it Hinata? What's going on?'

 'They-were-ambushed.' Hinata said between breaths. Suga went white. 'Noya is hurt, but he's still fighting. There are too many for them to take on, they need to retreat, but Ukai doesn't know if they'll make it.'

 'What about Daichi?'

 'I don't know.' Hinata said, feeling a knot tighten in his stomach. The look on Suga's face was heartbreaking. 'I was just ordered to come here and tell Asahi to be prepared.'

 Asahi was stood at the end of the room, tending to an unknown female. He looked up, spotted Hinata and waved for a moment, before seeing the look on both boys faces and came hurrying over. 'What is it? What's wrong?'

 'Daichi and the others were ambushed.' Asahi's face fell at these words. 'The General is sending out a team to help them to retreat, but Noya is already injured. I don't know how bad it is, but you need to be prepared for when they get back.'

 Hinata was careful to use the word 'when' and not 'if'. He couldn't think about his team dying only a couple of days after he'd met them all. He couldn't bear to think of how upset Suga would be if Daichi didn't make it out alive.

 Suga jumped straight out of bed, and shouted down Asahi who was trying to get him to stay put. 'I can't lie in bed while they're out there, fighting for their lives. I'm sorry Asahi, I'm going back to Area 12 with Hinata.'

 Before Asahi could even try to stop him, Suga grabbed Hinata's wrist and ran out of the Medical Ward. Hinata allowed himself to be pulled along, knowing Suga would be able to get them back without a hitch, and tried to keep himself calm and composed. They would make it back. They would. They had to.

 Back in Area 12, Kageyama had woken up and was being wrestled with by Ukai. He was trying to climb into his Mech.

 At the sight of Hinata, he called him over. 'Hinata! Get in the Mech! We're going to go get them!'

 'Kageyama! I don't need this right now, I should be in the control room with Takeda!' Ukai yelled but Kageyama kept trying to fight against him. 'You're not going to risk your life!'

 'Suga, help me out here.'

 It appeared as though Suga was pained by his choice, but walked over to Kageyama and put a hand of his shoulder. Kageyama stopped wrestling. 'Listen to Ukai, we can't risk losing you and Hinata as well.'

 'Don't talk like they're not going to make it back!' Kageyama shouted.

 'I'm not. I believe in them.'

 Takeda appeared in the doorway to the control room. 'Ukai! The Special Forces have made it. They're pushing the enemy back.'

 'See, everything is fine.  Do not let him in that Mech.' Ukai pointed at Suga and Hinata before hurrying back into the control room.

 Kageyama, of course, went straight for the Mech and Hinata jumped at him, wrapping his arms around his waist and pushing with all his might. Kageyama, who's arms were trapped at his sides by Hinata, started violently swearing at him and telling him to let go. Hinata clung on, eventually tumbling over his own two feet and bring Kageyama down with him in a painful pile on the floor.

 Breaking free of Hinata, Kageyama got up and moved towards the Mech, ready to hoist himself up, when Ukai appeared in the control room doorway. 'Kageyama, get down! They're on their way back. It's fine.'

 Suga and Hinata let out a sigh of relief. Suga came and sat down on the floor next to Hinata and rested his head on Hinata's shoulder. His arm was still in a sling and he was wearing a ridiculous blue cotton hospital gown, but he didn't seem embarrassed by it. Kageyama came and slumped down next to them, looking grumpier than usual.

 'We won't need to carry Noya to the Medical Ward, will we?' Hinata asked, hoping he wouldn't have to see any blood. 'Will Asahi come here?'

 'Yeah, he'll be on his way, I imagine.' Suga said.

 Together, the three of them sat and waited, staring at the metal door. When the orange light flashed, warning them that the door would be opening, they all jumped straight to their feet and hurried forwards.

 They froze when they saw the jet black Mechs that came stomping into the room. These were not the Mechs from the Karasuno team.

 'Special Forces.' Suga whispered.

 There were six of them in total, two each carrying what looked like broken and twisted metal lumps between them. Hinata put two-and-two together and gasped, realising these were the Karasuno Mechs.

 Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's was the least damaged, only missing it's arms, but it still looked incredibly scratched and beaten up. The glass was shattered, revealing the two boys unconscious in the cockpit. Tsukishima's blonde hair was stained red with blood and Yamaguchi had glass imbedded in his face.

 Before Hinata, Suga or Kageyama could run forwards, the Medical team had arrived, lead by Asahi, and they were being pushed out of the way.

 The three Mechs, well, what was left of them, were placed in the centre of the room and being wrenched apart by the Special Forces Mechs.

 Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were the first two out, as it was easiest to get to them. Hinata felt the air in his chest leave him and bile rise in his throat as he watched the two being pulled onto stretchers. Tsukishima had a huge chunk missing from his side, blasted away by something powerful, and he was losing blood fast. Yamaguchi's bottom lip was spilt and swollen and his right leg was clearly broken as Hinata could see the bone sticking through it.

 Noya and Tanaka's Mech been crushed in on either side and it took some time for the two Mechs that had carried it in to wrench the top off. Noya was unconscious, white as a sheet and bleeding as badly as Tsukishima, if not worse. He'd sustained even more injures than when Hinata had seen him on the display, and it looked like one of his feet had been completely crushed in on itself.

 The sight of all the blood made Hinata vomit. Kageyama noticed him gagging and had stepped away.

 Tanaka was still awake, but barely. He was trying to get up, trying to go to Noya, but he couldn't move his body properly. His arms looked broken and he was struggling to breathe. Hinata heard Asahi say something about a possible punctured lung before they were all hurried out of the room by other Medical members.

 Daichi was the only one left now. They were really having problems trying to get to him as the top had caved in so badly they couldn't seem to get it open. Eventually, they decided to kick in the glass and pull Daichi through it, being careful not to cut him on any of the shards.

 He was completely soaked in blood. Hinata couldn't even tell where he was injured.

 Suga let out a sob next to him.

 'I should have gone with him,' Suga's words were broken as cried, tears rolling down his face. 'He wouldn't have been this bad, if I were with him.'

 'Don't beat yourself up, Suga.' Kageyama said. He was pale and his bottom lip was trembling, but Hinata knew he was trying to hold it together. 'You don't know that.'

 Watching Daichi's limp body being wheeled out of the room made anger flush through Hinata. Furiously, he wiped at his eyes and turned to Kageyama, who looked a little startled. 'We need to train as hard as possible until we're good enough to be able to go out there with them, no matter how small they think the task is. I know the two of us might not have made that big a difference, but you never know until you try.'

 Blank faced, Kageyama nodded.

 They watched as the Special Force Mechs made their way out of their Area, once the metal door had been raised, and then sat with Suga while he sobbed into Hinata's shoulder.

 Despite the three of them wanting to go see what kind of fate was in store for their friends, and whether or not Daichi was actually still alive, Ukai told them to remain in their Area for the time being. The others would be taken straight into surgery, so they wouldn't be able to visit them anyway, and he would go and find out Daichi's condition for them.

 'He's alive, isn't he?' Takeda could barely whisper as he joined them on the floor. They had all moved away from the spot where Hinata had thrown up. 'You saw him?'

 'We don't know.' Was all Hinata could manage to say. He had seen Daichi, but he had been so limp and lifeless, there was no telling whether he had made it or not.

 'It was horrible to watch.' Takeda was crying now. He took off his glasses and pressed his face into his knees.

 Kageyama got up and walked away without saying anything.

 Hinata pulled Suga a little tighter into him and stared at the three blood-stained wreckages in the middle of the room, his eyebrows furrowed, vowing to himself that this was the last time he would allow any of his friends to be injured.

 Not with him on the team.

 Not anymore.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Daichi was alive.

 He'd suffered an almost fatal amount of blood loss but Asahi and the other Medics had managed to stop the bleeding any further from multiple wounds, and he was currently under sedation until they felt he was healed enough to be woken up.

 It was weird seeing him lying in a hospital bed, covered in tubes and bandages. His face didn't even look right, purple and swollen.

 Yamaguchi was the first wake up, apart from Tanaka, who refused to let his injuries knock him out at all (his lung hadn't been punctured, the attack had just winded him enough to make his breathing difficult). Yamaguchi's leg was casted and he had several cuts on his face but didn't look too bad, compared to the others. His lip didn't look great but it was already starting to heal. Upon waking up, he immediately asked about Tsukishima's condition and they told him Tsukishima was fine and resting.

 Tsukishima wasn't pleased about being stuck in the Medical Ward, especially on a bed between Noya and Tanaka, who wouldn't stop talking to each other loudly (once Noya had woken up). He couldn't move about much either, because of the wound in his side, which Asahi said could easily open up again if Tsukishima tried to leave the hospital.

 In the end, Asahi gave him a pair of earplugs.

 Noya was super impressed by the long gash down his chest and stomach and kept showing it to nurses who were walking by. He was all stitched up, with several more down his arms and one of his thigh and his foot had been, fortunately, salvageable and it was also in a cast. He got Hinata, Asahi, Kageyama, Tanaka and Suga to sign it. Tsukishima refused and Yamaguchi said he wasn't going to get up. Major Ukai and Captain Takeda were too busy trying to work out how Aoba Johsai had sprung the surprise attack without them noticing to come visit the patients in the hospital, but sent their love via Hinata, who expressed it (although probably not what Ukai and Takeda had intended) through hugs, much to Tsukishima's annoyance.

 Tanaka's arms were both in a sling and he kept acting like it really hurt him so the nurses would come over. Eventually, they got a bit tired of him crying wolf and made Asahi go over every time he complained, which made him soon stop, because Asahi kept bursting into tears about all of them being hurt.

 Also completely eager to retell his version of events, Noya made them all gather around his bed while he shared what had happened. 'We were all close to each other, it's just proto-call in a rescue mission encase someone does attack, you have back-up.'

 'Yeah, it helped us a lot.' Tsukishima said from his bed, not even bothering to try and hide the sarcasm.

 'And then suddenly, there were loads of them, hundreds per Mech-'

 'There were about thirty to each Mech.' Tsukishima cut in. Noya frowned.

 'Whatever, that's still a lot. They were from Aoba Johsai, I think. And they just started attacking and of course, my first priority was to protect our leader, so I moved the Mech towards Daichi and this bomb exploded right at our side, making some of the metal strip away and fly at me. That's how I got this. It's going to make an ace scar. Chicks dig scars.'

 He lifted his shirt to show them for what felt like the millionth time.

 'They completely overpowered us, we couldn't even fight back there were too many of them.' Tanaka added, sitting on Noya's bed. 'The metal of our Mech gave way and crushed inwards, I managed to get my legs out of the way but Noya's foot didn't make it.'

 'It didn't even hurt that much.' Noya said coolly, but let out a wail when Kageyama hit his foot with the palm of his hand.

 'They were all trying to get Daichi,' Noya said, his dark eyes drifting over to the bed where he knew Daichi lay, hidden behind blue curtains. 'I think they were trying to take down the leader. He kept getting blasted around, he couldn't control his Mech, not without Suga there.'

 Suga looked crestfallen. He looked down at his feet.

 'Now, now, Noya, these aren't very nice bedside stories.' Asahi decided it was time to change the subject. They didn't need to know the gruesome details about how each team member got hurt, especially not Daichi, and especially not with Suga around, who was still blaming himself for not being at his partner's side.

 'Did you manage to find anyone?' Hinata asked. Noya shook his head.

 'Completely deserted. We need  to go further out to the edge, I wanted to go but Daichi said it was too dangerous. The further out we are, the harder it is to retreat and get back safely.'

 'Why don't they send the Special Forces out to do this kind of work?' Hinata asked. Tanaka shook his head.

 'Nah, they aren't bothered with that kind of thing. No use risking our best men on something like search-and-rescue.' He sniffed, pulling a face. 'My nose is itching me like crazy and I can't move my arms to scratch it.'

 He looked around. 'Do you think I could get Kiyoko to be my bedside nurse?'

 'She's an engineer, not a nurse.' Kageyama said. 'Even if she was, I imagine she'd stay well away from you.'

 'Don't talk like that, Kags,' Tanaka sighed dramatically. Kageyama looked appalled at being addressed as 'Kags'. 'I'm slowly warming her up to me. Little by little. She'll come round.'

 Thankfully, things from then on only seemed to start getting better. After a week, Daichi was finally brought out of sedation and when he woke up, the first thing that greeted him was Suga's tear-stained face inches from his. He winced as Suga hugged him, but wrapped his arms around his partner and let him cry into his chest while he smiled around at everyone else who was stood around his bedside.

 Everyone's recovery was really coming along, thanks to the Medical technology available at the Crow's Allegiance, which Asahi proudly said was ten times better than anything the enemy teams had. It only took about a month for everyone to heal enough to exit the Medical Ward and return to Area 12.

 Noya was wobbling around on crutches, as his foot was still a bit swollen and painful, but Yamaguchi found his leg only pained him if he stood on it for too long. Tanaka and Suga were both thrilled to have use of their arms again, and Tanaka kept swinging his around his body and ended up hitting Captain Takeda in the face.

 While everyone spent time recovering, Kageyama and Hinata spent every single day, from morning to night, training in their Mech together, only breaking for meal times. They had really made significant strides in their syncing rate, and although they still hadn't managed to repeat what they'd done the first time, they could move the Mech as one with little difficultly, Hinata in full control of the Mech's movements and Kageyama wasn't shouting at him anymore.

 He still snapped orders occasionally and refused to let Hinata do anything with his eyes shut, but he was definitely starting to warm up to having Hinata by his side. He didn't seem comfortable in the Mech anymore without Hinata there.

 General Ukai, originally visiting his grandson, ended up watching them for a while training in the Mech and decided that they were both now good enough to go out on the next mission with the team. Hinata and Kageyama were thrilled.

 'I wouldn't get too excited,' General Ukai told them. 'Your team is still recovering. We aren't in any rush to put them back out there.'

 'We're healed.' Tanaka complained, swinging his arms to prove it.

 'Physically, you're all coming along fine, but mentally, I don't want to put that kind of strain on you. We have to make sure none of you are going to suffer any trauma from this incident.'

 It meant that Daichi, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Tanaka and Noya all had to subjugated to a lot of mental health tests with the Crow's team of psychiatrists. They also had Suga go too, because they thought Daichi's attack might could have really affected him and the therapy actually turned out to be most helpful for him, in order to help him stop blaming himself for not being there.

 Despite Kageyama constantly being by his side, Hinata found the passing month to be a lonely one. Their area was always so empty, which he didn't like. They did come and go occasionally, Daichi liked to keep on track of how Hinata's training was going, but they still weren't ready to get back in their Mechs again, especially since Kiyoko and her team were still rebuilding them. Daichi's had to be made brand new.

 'They're being really strict about this therapy business,' Hinata said to Noya one night at dinner. It was only him and Kageyama at the table with Noya. Daichi and Suga were having what Noya liked to joke as 'couples', therapy, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had not wished to join them and Tanaka had complained loudly about his arms hurting so he'd gone back to the Medical Ward to bother Asahi.

 Today's dinner was fish, which Hinata was really enjoying. He hadn't had fish before, not that he knew of, anyway. Kageyama said this was because the nearest fishing waters were too far from the base and not worth the risk of going all the way out there. Apparently this batch had been found in a freezer of an abandoned building, all vacuum sealed.

 'Is there still power running through the city?'

 'A little. We have our own generators and we've hooked some up  to the main city grid, it's supposed to just be so we can put the street lights on during night raids, but some stuff still plugged in and switched on, that isn't broken, gets a bit of power.' Kageyama had explained. 

 Noya chewed his fish thoughtfully. He was resting his foot on the seat opposite him. The swelling was starting to go down. He said he was dying to wear shoes again, he didn't like the cold metal floors of the base. Hinata suggested he wear socks but Noya said they'd only get dirty. 'They're being thorough because of what happened to Asahi.'

 'I thought you weren't supposed to talk about that.' Kageyama snapped. Noya glared at his plate.

 'I wouldn't if Asahi was around.'

 Hinata looked at Kageyama. 'Do you know what happened to him?'

 'Hmm? No, I was only drafted a little over a year ago. I only know whatever happened to Asahi was over two years ago.'

 'He seems fine to me.' Hinata picked up his cup of water. Noya sighed.

 'I said I wouldn't fight again until he was back on the team,' he narrowed his eyes. 'But they made me.'

 'Who made you? Daichi?'

 Noya shook his head. 'Nah, the big-guns. Said they had no use for solider who wouldn't fight and threatened to kick me out.'

 Hinata gasped. 'Would they really do that?'

 'Dunno. Wouldn't put it past them, honestly.' Noya shrugged. His hair was looking extra spiky today. He had a little blonde bit running down the centre of his forehead which Hinata kept meaning to ask about but usually ended up forgetting. 'But they promised not to kick Asahi out and just to put him on the Medical Ward, so I figured that was probably a better place for him.'

 'Were you originally partnered with him?'

 'Nah. I've always been with Ryu. Asahi's partner died.'

 Hinata felt Kageyama stiffen beside him. He gasped. 'That's awful, so he blames himself?'

 'Pretty much.'

 That was all Noya decided to say about the matter, despite Hinata asking a lot more questions. Noya said it wasn't really his business to be telling Hinata this information and that if he dared repeat any of it to Asahi he'd have his head.

 On their walk back to Area 12, Hinata found himself staring at the back of Kageyama's head as they walked. Could Kageyama be that cold-hearted that the death of his old partner hadn't affected him in the same way it had affected Asahi?

 Sure, Asahi was actually quite an emotional guy, but Kageyama was still human. Death affected everyone. They must have been partnered together for some time before they were let out on a mission together, and even if they hadn't gotten along, it must have at least upset Kageyama a teeny-tiny bit.

 Maybe Hinata was thinking too much about it. He didn't know much about Kageyama, personally, and just because he would bawl his eyes out if anyone around him died, didn't mean Kageyama would do the same.

 In fact, he hadn't seen Kageyama display much more emotional traits than anger and grouchiness. If he wasn't either of them, he was usually just calm and collected. Hinata could tell spent a lot of time just thinking.

  _I wonder what he thinks about me,_ Hinata thought, still watching him. He wanted to think Kageyama liked him, but there was no way of knowing. He could just be putting up with him for the sake of piloting the Mech.

 Another week passed before they heard anything from the higher-ups about going out on a mission. Major Ukai called them all in for a meeting early one morning, after they'd all eaten and showered.

 Towelling at his damp hair, Hinata took a seat next to Kageyama. Ukai had gathered them all in the meeting room with the large table. It was still scattered with paper. Hinata ignored it. He'd learnt by now that there was no use trying to figure any of it out, it didn't make sense to him. Better to leave that to Ukai and Takeda.

 'We've had word that Dateko is planning an attack.'

 The tension that filled the room could be cut with a knife. Hinata stared around, feeling confused.

 He hadn't heard much about Dateko, other than they were one of the three enemy teams. They had only faced off with Nekoma and Aoba Johsai while he had been there. By the looks on everyone's faces, he could tell this was a troublesome enemy.

 'Dateko have been laying low for the past two years,' Ukai said to the group. 'We think this is because they were training and building up their forces.'

 'We could barely hold them off last time, if they have more recruits-' Suga looked worried. Hinata saw Daichi take his hand from under the table.

 'I'll take them down.' Noya said loudly. Everyone looked at him. His face was deadly serious. 'I swore it after what those bastards did to Asahi.'

  Ukai sighed. 'We have no idea what Dateko's attack pattern is going to be like anymore. It could have be a hundred times different to what it was back when you first fought against them.'

 'They'll still have their Iron Wall.' Daichi said. Ukai nodded.

 'I don't doubt it. That's their strongest defence strategy.'

 'What's the Iron Wall?' Hinata asked. He wasn't the only one confused, Kageyama, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi all looked at Ukai with interest.

 'They line up their Mechs and will purposely block their enemies Mechs. We had a real issue with it last time. I don't know what kind of metal their Mechs are built out of, but they're incredibly strong, much stronger than ours. Trying to blast your way through them seems impossible.'

 'I'm going to kill them all.' Noya said angrily. Tanaka patted him on the head.

 'Don't get yourself worked up about it, Noya. Fighting for revenge isn't what the Crow's Allegiance is about.' Ukai said. Noya tutted.

 'I don't care, not after what they did to Asahi.'

 Tsukishima leant forwards. 'What did they do to him? Because it seems to me he's just a big cry-baby.'

 Noya stood up so fast his chair toppled over. A ringing silence followed as he glared at Tsukishima, who looked a little taken back. 'If you ever insult Asahi again, I'll kick the shit out of you.'

 'Don't speak to Tsukishima like that!' Yamaguchi snapped. Tsukishima told him to be quiet.

 Ukai sighed. 'Settle down. I'll explain. You should know what you are going to be up against anyway.'

 He took a seat and lit a cigarette. 'A little over two years ago we got a report that the enemy team known as Dateko were planning a surprise attack. The Karasuno team hadn't battled them before, but other teams from Crow had. All I knew from my grandfather was that this team was strong and we couldn't let our guard down for a minute. Daichi wasn't Captain back then, he and Suga were both Lance Corporal, like Noya and Tanaka are now.'

 'We were Privates back then.' Tanaka smiled, and then giggled at the word 'privates'.

 'So, Asahi was Lance Corporal too?'

 'Yeah,' Ukai nodded. 'The old Captain was called Hidenori Uchizawa-'

 'He was nice. I liked him.' Suga interrupted, although Ukai didn't seem too fussed about it. The other members who had known him nodded sadly.

 'Uchizawa led his team out to fight Dateko, along with other Crow members. We had been assigned one area of the city. There were ten Mechs in all, we had a lot more team members back then. Asahi was among them.'

 'Who was his partner? Mori-something.' Tanaka had screwed up his face, trying to remember.

 'Yukinari Mori.'

 'That's the one!'

 'Anyway, if you didn't know this about Asahi, he used to be Karasuno's 'Ace'. He was the best Mech pilot we've ever had.' Kageyama didn't look very impressed by this news. He had obviously thought he was the best. Tsukishima smirked at him. 'He couldn't move the Mech like you do, Kageyama, but he could sure-as-Hell attack. His strikes were so powerful sometimes he'd only have to hit an enemy Mech once and they would go down.'

 'I can't imagine Asahi fighting. He seems too gentle.' Hinata muttered. Yamaguchi nodded in agreement.

 'He can get quite serious when he's focused.' Ukai explained, blowing smoke over the group. Captain Takeda, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, rolled his eyes. He wasn't fond of Ukai smoking in meetings. Hinata had spotted them bickering about it a week before in the bathroom. 'Despite there only being about six Dateko Mechs to Karasuno's ten, they completely wiped the floor with us. They had this strategy where three of them would block off one Mech, using their Iron Wall tactic, while one would defend the wall and the other two would attack the blocked off Mech.

 'However, they found that sending one Mech to attack the others wasn't working because Asahi would just plough straight through them, so they changed their tactic and all blocked him off in a corner.'

 'There were three of them blocking him. Me and Ryu were trying to break through them to help get him out but we couldn't. We ended up being blasted away and our Mech broke one of its legs so we were stuck, completely useless.' Noya looked furious with himself.

 'We lost seven Mechs that day, Kiyoko and her team had to build new ones from scratch,' Daichi sniffed sadly. 'Dateko completely destroyed us. Tanaka and Noya were safely out of the way, and me and Suga managed to barely make it out of there, but the others all died. We lost _fifteen_ people.'

 'So, Asahi blames himself?'

 Daichi nodded. 'He blames himself for not being able to get through their Iron Wall. He could see them all fighting and he was stuck being unable to do anything. He had to watch fourteen people he cared about die, I'm pretty sure he thought me, Suga, Noya and Tanaka hadn't made it either because our Mechs had gone down, and then once they'd all gone down, the Iron Wall attacked him and Mori.'

 Suga seemed upset talking about it, but continued on anyway. 'I don't know if you're aware of this yet, Hinata, but there's a button on either arm of your Mech that will put up a shield between you and your partner. If you put up the shield, Kageyama would not be able to put it down. It's designed so that you can save your partners life, if you think you're not going to make it.'

 'Mori saw the attack coming straight at him and quickly put up the shield,' Daichi decided to continue Suga's story, because Suga was getting teary eyed. 'He saved Asahi's life, because Dateko sent a shard of broken pipe through their window. It killed Mori.'

 'By this point I had already called for back-up to get the survivors out of there.' Ukai cut in. 'I think Dateko had assumed they'd killed everyone as they backed away after that attack. Maybe they don't have the shield thing in their Mech so they figured it must have killed both the inhabitants-'

 'Wait,' Hinata said over him. 'Does that mean, while he was waiting to be rescued, Asahi thought he was the only one out of his entire team who had survived?'

 Ukai paused, then nodded slowly. 

 'He almost suffocated me and Noya when we all got back to the base,' Tanaka said. 'He cried for weeks and wouldn't go anywhere near a Mech again.'

 'We'd appreciate it if you didn't repeat any of this information to him,' Daichi asked the four members who had not been there during the Dateko battle. 'It's a very sensitive issue for him.'

 'They offered him a job in the Medical Ward because they thought it would be rewarding for him to be saving lives.' Takeda added.

 'So, what is the plan for our attack on Dateko then?' Kageyama decided he'd had enough of hearing about Asahi's history and wanted to get down to business. He had been itching to get out of the base for the past month. 'If they're going to try and do this Iron Wall thing again, we need a way to break through it and bring them down.'

 'Your best bet would be to stop them from getting close to each other,' Ukai stubbed out his cigarette on the table. That end of the table was covered in scorch marks. 'If they can't form a wall, then you won't have to deal with trying to break through it. However, I don't recommend trying to fight one-on-one, because their Mech's are much stronger than ours. It's unfortunate we don't have much in term of numbers.'

 If Dateko could easily take down ten Karasuno Mechs, Hinata thought worryingly, then surely four would be a walk in the park for them.

 'However, my grandfather has decided you're going to be joining up with the Karasuno girl's group.' Both Tanaka and Noya's eyes lit up. 'That'll give you more numbers in your group. I think there will be about five or six more Mechs in total. The Special Forces will also be on hand if needed, but let's hope it won't come to that.'

 'Do we get to meet them?' Tanaka asked, practically pushing Noya out of the way.

 'No. They'll just be joining you on the battlefield.' Tanaka looked disappointed. Noya huffed.

 'Why do they split us up, male and female?' Hinata asked, actually innocently curious and not, as Tanaka accused him (and made him blush vividly), complaining that there were no women on their team for him to hook up with.

 'They just think girls get along better with girls, and vice-versa.' Ukai answered, shrugging. 'There are mixed teams, we just don't happen to be one of them.'

 'It's probably because of Tanaka.' Tsukishima said under his breath, but still loud enough for Tanaka to hear. He puffed himself up, ready to start a fight, but Daichi shot him a single glance and he stopped immediately.

 'I've been told we're not to inform Asahi that we're going to be up against Dateko,' Ukai instructed, running his fingers through his dirty blonde hair. 'We don't need to put that kind of stress on him. Just say it's Nekoma.'

 'What if someone else tells him?' Hinata asked.

 'Then I'll batter them.' Tanaka replied.

 'I don't know when Dateko plan on attacking, we haven't received that information yet, so I want you all ready to go at a moment's notice. It could be later today, tomorrow, or next week. We can't be certain.' Ukai informed them and everyone nodded.

 ***

 Dinner that night was rather awkward.

 They had all talked non-stop about the upcoming fight with Dateko until Asahi joined them at the table, at which point the conversation stopped entirely. Of course, Asahi was immediately suspicious and wouldn't stop asking if he'd done something wrong to upset everyone and Daichi ended up just telling him half-truths.

 'We've got a big battle coming up,' he told Asahi, who looked worried. 'It's with Nekoma. They're planning a surprise attack.'

 'We didn't want to say anything,' Suga continued, trying to smile convincingly. 'After the stress you went through when we all came back from the last battle...'

 'No, no, it's fine.' Asahi was clenching his fork so tight his knuckles were white. 'I understand.'

 'We just didn't want you to worry about us coming back... you know, the same...' Tanaka began but ended up trailing off. Kageyama took over.

'We were arguing about whether or not to tell you before you came.'

 'Obviously it's better to just tell you,' Daichi added. 'You'll find out anyway.'

 Asahi sniffed, teary-eyed. He shook his head. His hair wasn't tied up today and was looking quite messy. 'You guys shouldn't consider about how I feel. I know you'll have to go out on more missions. I'm always going to worry, no matter what. Thank you for telling me though. I appreciate how hard it must be.'

 Hinata felt awful. If Asahi was taking the news of them going back on another mission, and just against Nekoma, he couldn't imagine what state he'd be in if he knew it was actually Dateko and they were all lying to him.

 It was for his own good, though, Hinata had to tell himself, stuffing as much food in his mouth as possible to give him something to do. Kageyama was watching him, disgusted.

 'Don't eat like a pig.'

 'I'm not!' Hinata tried to say, but it didn't come out how he'd planned and he ended up spitting a lot of food down his chin. He hurriedly wiped it away.

 'I'm not even going to talk to you anymore.' Kageyama pulled a face but handed Hinata a tissue. He'd taken it from the pile that Tanaka had slammed down on the table the moment Asahi had burst into tears and everyone was trying to calm him down. 'Asahi, you can't cry every time we have to go on a mission.'

 Daichi glared at him. He was sat patting Asahi awkwardly on the shoulder. 'Don't say that, Kageyama. Asahi just cares about our well-being.'

 'I-I'm sorry, you guys,' Asahi wailed. 'It's just after seeing you all last time, I didn't think you were going to make it.'

 'It's only Nekoma,' Tanaka waved a hand lazily like it was nothing. 'We've battled them loads of times and it's always been fine. You shouldn't worry.'

 Asahi nodded.

 'Besides,' Noya put in, shovelling food into his mouth as he spoke. Kageyama groaned quietly and muttered something about being surrounded by pigs. Noya either didn't notice or didn't care and continued what he was doing. For such a small guy, he could really eat. 'Ukai says we might not be going for ages yet. They just heard a rumour Nekoma's gonna attack. They could wuss out.'

 'I hope they don't,' Kageyama said, folding his arms. 'I need to get out of this base.'

 'Ah yes, because the wastelands outside are so much more relaxing.' Tsukishima sneered, sitting at the end of the table away from the rest of the group. Yamaguchi was, obviously, by his side. 'I really love the seeing the sights.'

 'I actually think it's really interesting,' Hinata spoke up. Tsukishima narrowed his eyes. Everyone turned to look at him. His face flushed a little. 'Obviously it's awful to see a city like that, you know, all broken and destroyed and whatever, but it's like 'gwahh!''

 'Gwahh?' Kageyama repeated, looking very confused. Everyone had a similar expression.

 'Yeah,' Hinata did an expression with his arms, like his mind was blown. 'It takes your breath away, like 'wahh'. I don't have any memories of my life outside these walls, so seeing a city like that, and thinking of how it used to be and what kind of life humanity had before the war... it's really interesting, isn't it?'

 'I agree with you, Hinata,' Suga smiled at him. 'I'd have love to have seen what the city used to be like. It must have been incredible.'

 'Are there no records at all? No photos or images?' Hinata asked. Daichi shook his head.

 'Not that we know of. This war has been going on for years, everything that humanity knew before this is long gone.'

 'How many years though? Does anyone know?'

 'No idea. We aren't told much about it.' Tanaka shrugged. 'They say it's pointless, we've got to focus on making a better future, not the past.'

 'Was the war going when General Ukai was a kid? Or our age?'

 'I don't know.' Daichi said honestly. He titled his head to observe Hinata. 'Does it really bother you that much, not knowing?'

 Hinata pulled a face and shrugged his shoulders. 'I just want to know what kind of world we might have had, I guess. It's nice, you know, to think about that kind of stuff. I wonder what my parents looked like.'

 This topic of conversation immediately had everyone feeling quite down. None of them had any idea what their family was like, apart from Tanaka, who said he still had a sister.

 'Really?!' Hinata asked eagerly. He didn't know why the thought of Tanaka having family excited him, he was just happy that one of them could still have some family left. 'Does she work here?'

 'Yeah,' Tanaka replied, scratching his head. 'She's a Major, like Ukai. Couple of years older than me. She works on the other side of the base, so I don't see her much.'

 'Is she like you?' Tsukishima asked.

 'What are you trying to say?' Tanaka snapped. Tsukishima said nothing, he just clicked his tongue against his teeth and returned to his meal. 'Her name's Saeko.'

 'His sister is amazing.' Noya said, the stars shining is his eyes as he spoke about her. Tanaka didn't look pleased. 'She's _so_ hot-'

 'Don't talk about my sister like that, bro!' Tanaka clapped his hands over his ears. Noya ignored him.

 'She's loads like Ryu, really loud and talkative. She does my hair for me.' Noya pointed to the weird blonde bit at the front of his head. 'Dunno what she uses, but it works. You might see her if she comes to shave Ryu's head for him.'

 'Don't tell them that!' Tanaka hit him in the arm. Tsukishima snorted into his dinner.

 'She likes to drink with Ukai sometimes,' Daichi also added. 'I'm sure you'll get to meet her. She's very fond of her little brother.'

 'I'm all she's got.' Tanaka said honestly, picking at his teeth. 'But she's still a pain.'

 'Were you found together then?' Hinata queried. Tanaka shrugged.

 'Must have been, don't remember, do I? That's what we were told, said we were brother and sister and we were super lucky to have each other, before shipping us both off to different departments. She rose up through the ranks super quickly, she's ruthless behind a Mech. Scary even. Even though she's a Major, she still fights. She's as stubborn as Kags when it comes to fighting.'

 'If one more person calls me Kags-' Kageyama began but was cut off by Noya.

 'Do you think she'll be coming anytime soon? I want my hair doing. The roots are growing out, and your head is in need of a shave, bro.' He pointed to Tanaka's head, which was covered in stubbly fine hairs. Tanaka pressed a hand to it.

 'I know, bro. I'll find her later, just stop saying stuff.'

 'Don't be embarrassed, Tanaka, who wouldn't want a big sister to cut their hair for them?' Tsukishima chuckled behind his hand. Tanaka tossed a boiled potato at him.

 'Don't start.' Daichi jumped in.

 'Do you think your sister would cut my hair too?' Hinata pulled at his orange strands, which were starting to creep down the back of his neck.

 'Kags could use a trim too.' Noya grinned. Kageyama glared at him, but reached up to pat his head. 

 'I'll ask Saeko when I see her.' Tanaka said.

 The meal continued quite pleasantly for a while, as Suga and Daichi told the group funny stories of things that had happened in the past, and Saeko even ended up walking through the cafeteria with a bunch of her friends and stopped by the table to greet her brother and the others.

 Noya wasn't lying when he said she was beautiful. She was quite short, but slim and curvy and had short, honey-coloured hair and big eyes. Hinata would never have guessed she was related to Tanaka, who always looked scary and tough.

 Although, when she slapped Tanaka hard on the back as a greeting, he could see some similarity.

 'Who's this kid?' She nodded at Hinata, who stood up to introduce himself and knocked over his water cup. She laughed. 'It's nice to meet you, Hinata. Yeah, I'll cut your hair. God forbid any of you end up like Asahi over here.'

 He looked quite hurt by the comment. She laughed again and ran her hands through his hair, making him babble. 'Let me cut it.'

 'I like it like this.' He stammered, twisting his head away from her hands. She threw them up in the air in defeat, as dramatic as her brother, and gave Hinata a little salute.

 'See ya' around, kid.'

 She walked off and Noya watched her go, almost leaning over Tanaka until he grabbed his face in one hand and pushed him back down into his seat.

 'What's wrong with my hair?' Asahi played with it nervously. Daichi sighed.

 'Nothing, Asahi.'

 'He likes the 'wild' look.' Noya muttered to Hinata, who frowned.

 'What does that mean?'

 'I dunno, that's just what he says. His beard says it all.'

 'Can we please stop talking about me.' Asahi asked, sighing. 'It makes me nervous.'

 'Doesn't everything?' Tsukishima responded.

 Noya threw another potato at him and Daichi decided it was time for bed.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Dateko attacked three days later.

 There was no prior warning, which Hinata was honestly surprised about, but then again, a surprise attack was supposed to be a surprise. They would hardly call ahead. All that happened was a loud explosion from somewhere distant and the warning lights  had begun to flash and the deafening wailing started that instructed all pilots to their Mechs.

 Kageyama had been teaching Hinata a card game at the time. The alarm made them both look up and they were moving before they even had time to think about what was happening, leaving cards scattered across the dorm room floor.

 Daichi and Suga were already in their Mech, awaiting the others. Tsukishima was pulling Yamaguchi up and Tanaka had picked Noya up and tossed him, like a volleyball, into their Mech cockpit.

 'I'll give you a leg up.' Kageyama told Hinata, holding out his knotted hands. Hinata nodded and allowed Kageyama to boost him up into the Mech, sliding down into his seat and buckling his seatbelt while Kageyama jumped in beside him and pulled down the top. He turned to look at Hinata, who was already waiting to go. 'Are you ok?'

 'Yes. I'm ready. Just tell me where to go and I'll do it.' Hinata said firmly. Kageyama switched on the Mech and turned on the intercom.

 'Are we ready to go, Daichi?'

 'We're waiting for Ukai to open the door. Fall in behind me. We need to head East as soon as we get out and join up with the girl's team. They're already waiting for us.' Daichi's voice floated through their Mech. Hearing him made Hinata a lot calmer. With Daichi leading them, they couldn't lose.

 The orange light on the door started to flash as the metal lifted up and everyone began to move together, following Daichi's Mech out of Area 12 and back into the wastelands of the city once more. Kageyama was allowed Hinata to move the Mech, he was sat back in his seat, his eyes narrowed, his thinking face on.

 Hinata was taking in his surroundings, looking at each building as they passed, wondering what it had been built for, had people lived there or worked there, what kind of jobs did the world used to offer up? If he had been born back then, when life had been like that, what kind of life would he be living right now?

 Part of him longed for that kind of living, but another part of him was sort of glad he was where he was right now. He was so happy to have this family behind him, supporting him, at his side. He peered at Kageyama, who wasn't paying him any attention.

 He was so thankful.

 Other Mechs soon joined theirs. Six in total. Their Mechs looked exactly the same as theirs, so once the girls had mixed in with their own team, Hinata couldn't tell which ones belonged to his fellow members. He tried looking for numbers, but there was another Mech with the numbers 1 and 2 scratched into the legs, and so on, so he really couldn't tell.

 It didn't really matter, he shouldn't be worrying about the others, he had a job to do and that was his main focus.

 'There's a team of seven coming up,' Takeda's voice came over their com. Hinata gulped. 'Don't let them form the Iron Wall.'

 Daichi ordered them to split into teams of two, so Hinata and Kageyama went with the Mech nearest to them, which were two girls they didn't know but decided to introduce themselves over the com. They headed a little away from the rest of the group, keeping their eyes peeled.

 According to Takeda, Dateko had sent a missile at the Western most part of their base, which meant the majority of the other groups had headed that way to fight them, but he felt it was probably a decoy.

 'They're clever,' Ukai cut in over the com. 'They'll expect everyone to flock towards the main attack while they use this distraction to break in through our Eastern side. We have to prevent them at all costs. If they get inside, we're screwed.'

 'What about North and South areas?' Hinata asked.

 'They're covered, don't worry. Just focus on taking down any Dateko Mechs that come your way.'

 Hinata squinted out of his side window. He was looking at a boarded up building across the road. 'Hey, Kageyama, what's a bakery? The pictures on the door look like cakes.'

 'Then there's your answer.' Kageyama seemed on edge. He didn't like the quiet part before the battle.

 'Oooh, I wish I could try some.'

 'Will you focus?'

 'They're not even here yet!'

 'Fine, you be caught off guard when they attack. Don't blame me.'

 Grumbling, Hinata slid back into his seat and placed his hands on the Mech controls. He twisted the Mech around at the middle a few times before Kageyama smacked him. He moved his arm away, rubbing it.

 'Ow!'

 'Stop pratting around!'

 'Will you two take it seriously?' A female voice snapped over the com. Kageyama huffed.

 'I am!'

 'Kageyama, Hinata,' Ukai's voice interrupted. 'We've found the enemy Mechs. Daichi and the others are heading that way. Follow them.'

 'Got it.'

 They turned the Mech and began to run after the rest of the group.

 As they rounded the corner, a wall of thicker, darker Mechs greeted them. They were much bigger than the Crow Mechs and the metal looked almost new, it was so shiny. Had these Mechs been made brand new or were they just that tough that they'd never faced any kind of damage in battle?

 'Fuck, they're already in a wall.' Kageyama said.

 'What's the plan?' Hinata asked.

 'Break them up!' Ukai shouted.

 The other Mechs all moved instantly, flinging themselves at the enemy. Kageyama made Hinata pull away, into the shadows of a building.

 'What are you doing?'

 'I need to figure out where to attack,' he said, his eyes moving quickly as he scanned each enemy Mech. 'Get ready, I'll tell you when to move.'

 Frustrated, but putting his trust in Kageyama, Hinata readied himself and watched as Mechs battled Mechs. The Crow Mechs were definitely taking a lot more damage than the Dateko ones; even though their team was managing to block a lot of the attacks, the Dateko Mechs were causing a lot of scratches and cuts in the metal. Hinata could see sparks flying from one Mech near the back as it clashed with Dateko.

 'They've broken their wall.' Hinata observed but Kageyama said nothing.

 The girls they had originally been with were battling a Mech on their own. It was winning over them and Hinata turned to look at Kageyama. 'We've got to help them!'

 'Got it!' Kageyama suddenly cried. 'Run forwards and duck.'

 Without even thinking about it, Hinata had moved the Mech forwards and done exactly what Kageyama had asked of him. He made the Mech duck down and Kageyama swiped out one of their arms, taking the enemy Mech straight off its feet. While on its back, the girls jumped straight on top of it and started stamping on the glass of the cockpit.

 Kageyama was about to instruct Hinata when something sent them flying backwards. They crashed into the wall of a building and they were both thrown about in their seats, only the belt holding them down.

 Dizzy, Hinata and Kageyama both looked up to find themselves surrounded by three Dateko Mechs.

 'Fuck!' Kageyama yelled. 'Quick, Hinata, get out of the side before they completely block us off.'

 Squeezing his eyes shut, scared by the presence of the enemy Mechs, Hinata followed orders and twisted the Mech to the side, slipping out of the gap between the end Mech and the wall of the building before it closed up. He then turned the Mech back around, as Kageyama instructed, and sent the Mech forwards, crashing into the enemy. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he could hear the scrape of metal on metal as they fought the Mechs.

 Three on one, this was bad.

 'HINATA OPEN YOUR EYES.' Kageyama shouted. Hinata obeyed.

 'I'm sorry! I panicked!'

 They were only fighting one Mech now. Crow Mechs had come forward to help them out with the other two.

 'What do we do?'

 'I'm thinking!' Although his train of thought was broken when the Mech in front of them slammed a thick metal hand down on top of their Mech, making it shake violently. 'Back away!'

 Hinata sent the Mech backwards, careful to keep it upright. The enemy Mech started after them, although a lot slower than they were moving because of the sheer weight of their machine.

 'What are we doing?!'

 'Just keep going backwards, I want to get it away from the rest. If we can take this one out, then we'll go and bring another one to us. They saw us take down that first one with the low sweep, so they tried to make a wall to block us off.'

 'They're trying to do what they did to Asahi?'

 'Yeah, they block off whomever they think is the strongest and take down the weaker ones first.'

 'Will the others be alright?'

 'We can't worry about that. Stop the Mech.'

 Their Mech halted at once.

 The enemy Mech also stopped, standing an arm's reach away from them.

 'Where do we attack it? What's its weak point?'

 Kageyama's face was strained. 'I don't know.'

 'You're supposed to know these things!'

 'I can't see a vantage point, it all looks really solid.'

 'Can't we do the low sweep thing?'

 'No, it won't work on this one. The last one had a damaged leg. This one looks immaculate. It could be brand new.'

 Hinata was about to ask what the Hell their plan was then, but he didn't get chance. The Dateko Mech obviously wasn't going to sit around and wait for them to attack first or give them the courtesy of letting them finish their debate (not that they knew it was happening). They'd throw a large chunk of rock at their Mech, which hit the window and caused a large crack to start to spread across the glass.

 They staggered but Kageyama took control and brought them upright, before making Hinata move the Mech as fast as he could behind the Dateko one.

 A surprise attack definitely caught the Dateko Mech off guard, but did little to no damage to their metal casing. Kageyama had tried to break the latch on the back of the Mech, which held the top down, but their fist just clanged noisily as they struck metal and made the entire thing vibrate.

 'I don't like this.' Hinata chattered, his fingertips feeling funny.

 'Move away, quick.'

 He did as he was told, keeping a decent distance away from the other Mech.

 'Could we just shoot a missile at them?' Hinata asked, quite eagerly. He'd been itching to use a missile weapon since he'd first started training with Kageyama, but obviously it was forbidden inside of the base.

 'Worth a shot.' Kageyama let out a long breath. 'Ok, as fast as you can, move the Mech so we're directly in front of the Dateko one, I'm going to aim the missile at their window and then you've got to move us away from them as quickly as possible, because otherwise this blast is going to hit us too.'

 'Why not just do it from here?'

 'Because it's more likely to hit and kill if we get them directly in the face. Move. Now.'

 Trusting Kageyama's judgement, Hinata puffed out his cheeks and forced the Mech forwards, moving so quickly he wasn't even sure what was happening. Within seconds, they were face-to-face with the Dateko Mech, barely inches apart, and Kageyama was aiming the missile arm at them.

 He fired.

 'GO BACK.'

 But Hinata didn't managed to get the controls in time. The missile hit straight on and exploded almost instantaneously. A ball of fire reared up in front of them and sent their Mech flying backwards, completely shattering the glass in the windows. Kageyama threw up his arms to protect his face from the shards of glass and heat that flickered in. Hinata felt a sharp pain in his left cheek and something warm running down his face.

 There was ringing in his ears and the back of his neck hurt from the fall. He was trying to re-focus his vision when something dark loomed over them. He swore to himself.

 'Did it even do any damage?' He tried to mutter to Kageyama, but a fist struck down upon them and more glass came flying inwards. Hinata grabbed at the controls but they were jammed.

 Another fist hit them. Again and again.

 Kageyama was screaming, Hinata couldn't make out what he was saying over the sound of metal being crushed in and the thumping in his head, but he assumed he was probably swearing profusely. He was also trying to move the Mech, his controls were working, but every time he tried to the Mech up, the Dateko Mech slammed it back down again.

 'The metal is going to give way! It's already starting to cave in on itself!' Hinata cried, trying to ignore the stinging pain in his hands where he'd sliced his palm on something sharp. 'What do we do?!'

 'Fire another missile!' Kageyama shouted, more to himself than Hinata, since he was stuck unable to do anything. 'Cover your face!'

 Hinata watched as Kageyama moved the missile arm and placed the hand on the stomach-area of the Dateko Mech and sent a missile straight into it. His arms flew up to protect his face as an intense heat washed over them and the Dateko Mech was hurled away from them by the blast.

 Pain ran down his arms and he cried out, tears joining the blood already on his face. The suit he wore had stopped the fire from burning his skin, but he could still feel the sheer heat of it.

 Before he knew it, Kageyama had pulled their Mech into a standing position and had leaned over to give Hinata's controls a good whack to get them un-jammed.

 'You're burnt!' Hinata shrieked, trying to reach over and touch Kageyama but he pulled back, pushing Hinata's hands away from him. There was an awfully sore looking scorch mark above his right eye.

 'It's nothing, I just didn't throw up my arms in time. Some of the blast hit me.'

 'It got a bit of your hair too.' Hinata couldn't help but point out. Kageyama's black hair was smouldering at the ends. He reached over and patted them out before turning his attention back to their enemy. The Dateko Mech had gone down and looked like it was staying down.

 Hinata stomped the Mech over to have a look. Their attack had burnt a hole right through the centre of their Mech and had exposed a lot of wiring and cables, which were all burning away slowly.

 'Why didn't the first attack work? We got them straight in the face, but it didn't even break their window. It's shattered a little, but barely.'

 'They'd have defences set up around the cockpit area,' Kageyama explained. 'I had to try but I figured it'd be probably be worthless. Of course they're going to make that the strongest area, because that's where they'd assume everyone will try to attack. It's easier to just kill the people in the Mech than try and destroy the Mech itself.'

 'So they have super shatter-proof glass or whatever?'

 'It'll be something strong enough to take a lot of damage.'

 'How'd you know the second attack would work then?'

 'Because,' Kageyama pointed down at the Dateko Mech. 'Look at the black metal around the cockpit, the first blast bent in inwards, but obviously it'll be reinforced on the inside to protect the pilots. So I thought about it and remembered that the centre of each Mech, even ours, is just wiring and pipes and stuff. It was just a theory, but I figured they wouldn't reinforce the metal in the same way and it'd be our best shot of getting a missile through them.'

 'Wahh! That's clever!'

 Kageyama was taken aback by Hinata's compliment and coughed awkwardly. 'Let's get back to the others, we've got more to take care of.'

 'How do we know these guys are dead?' Hinata whispered. Kageyama shrugged.

 'We don't, but I've broken the movement controls so they won't be able to get back up again. We can come back and deal with these later when we've taken out the rest.'

 Allowing Kageyama to take charge, Hinata took a moment's pause and took a few deep breaths. He was sweaty and bloody and didn't have anything to stop his hand and face from bleeding. Making a mental note to suggest that first aid kits be provided inside every Mech, he let himself turn to watch Kageyama for a moment.

 He looked as serious as ever, his face less bloody than Hinata's but that burn looked really nasty. When Hinata had first met him, he couldn't see Kageyama as anything but miserable and scary, but he was finding himself becoming very fond of his Mech partner. Although his attitude hadn't changed in the slightest, Hinata started to find that he quite liked it. He'd decided that maybe the only reason Kageyama hadn't wanted him on his side in the first place was because of what had happened to his old partner- of course, Kageyama always said the other guy had been a moron and hadn't listened to instructions, which was what had gotten him killed, but there was a way that Kageyama constantly fretted about Hinata's safety when they trained together and made him sit down and listen to stories of fights Kageyama had had, and everything that could possibly go wrong in a fight and how Hinata would need to keep himself alive if that was the scenario, which made Hinata suspect the death of  his first partner had really hit Kageyama quite hard.

 Although he would never admit it, Hinata expected Kageyama was quite fond of him too. He often remained by Hinata's side these days, said he preferred his company to everyone else's, and said it was better for Mech partners to stick together at all times, just in case they were needed for a mission.

His train of thought was cut off when they rejoined the others. The group had moved a little, two of the girls Mech's had gone down and Hinata couldn't tell if they were still alive or not, and three Dateko Mech's had cornered off a Mech, which he soon realised to be Daichi's, since he spotted Suga's face through one of the broken panels in their cockpit window.

 'We need to get Suga and Daichi out from behind  the wall,' Hinata said, veering their Mech away from a Dateko Mech which charged right at them. Tanaka and Noya's Mech sped after them, firing hundreds of rounds of bullets which didn't seem to be doing much damage.

 'Are you guys ok?' Kageyama asked through the com.

 'Yeah! We're fine, they're not attacking us, they're just doing their stupid wall thing.' Daichi replied. 'The other three Dateko Mech's are being taken care of-'

 An explosion to the left of them made Hinata jump and he steered the Mech away again. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi's Mech was battling alongside a female Mech over by the bakery Hinata had spotted earlier. It was two against one against the three Dateko Mechs that weren't forming the Iron Wall.

 'Help us break through this goddamn wall!' Daichi shouted.

 'We could try the blast through the middle thing again?' Hinata suggested. Kageyama agreed and pressed the com.

 'Daichi, Suga, how much of your window is shattered?'

 'Only one panel on Suga's side.'

 'We're going to send a missile straight through the middle Dateko Mech, so I need you to move to one side so it won't blast through you too. It might cause you some damage, so prepare yourselves for that, but try and keep your faces protected.'

 'Got it.'

 'He didn't even question it.' Kageyama muttered, frowning. Hinata laughed.

 'It's 'cos they trust you.'

  Ever so slightly pink in the face, Kageyama ordered Hinata to move their Mech behind the middle one forming the Iron Wall and this time, he needed to get them away in time. Another blast like that would probably destroy their Mech completely.

 'I feel sick.' Hinata whispered, his stomach churning and more sweat pooling at his forehead. If he screwed up now, didn't move away fast enough, he could get him and Kageyama killed.

 'You'll be fine.'

 The Mech moved and he heard Kageyama gasp. Hinata had managed to do what he'd done the first time they'd gone out together, and move the Mech faster than ever before. Kageyama fumbled for the controls, needing to keep up with Hinata's quick speed, and used his genius eagle-eyes to spot the acquired target and fire a missile. Hinata had his eyes locked on Kageyama's hand, and the moment he'd pressed that button, Hinata was pulling the Mech back and getting them safely out of harm's way.

 He skidded to a halt and lent forwards, breathing hard.

 'You did it!'

 'That. Was. _Amazing_.' Hinata's whole face lit up. 'I DID IT.'

 'That was definitely like 'gwahh!'' Kageyama slapped him on the shoulder, albeit very clumsily and awkwardly.

 'Did Daichi and Suga break through?'

 They peered through their shattered window at the Iron Wall, which was quite far away from them now. Hinata hadn't realised how far he'd made the Mech move.

 Luckily, the missile had hit dead centre and the middle Dateko Mech had gone crashing to the floor, flames licking at the metal. The other two were already moving, trying to push Daichi's Mech back into the corner but he slammed through them and broke free, getting as far into the open as possible so they couldn't once again try to enclose him and Suga.

 'Thanks guys!' Suga cheered through the com.

 'Did you take much damage?'

 'Our right arm's not working, the blast hit it pretty bad, and our entire window is shattered but it's fine. We're ok. No burns or anything. That was genius Kageyama, how'd you figure that out?'

 'The middle of the Mech is just full of wires!' Hinata repeated what Kageyama had told him earlier.

 'It's not as reinforced as the rest because they assume we'll attack the head.'

 'They'll probably fix that mistake for next time.'

  'Then we'll worry about that when it comes to it. Do you think you can take on a Dateko Mech single-handedly? The other's are all battling in twos.'

 'Looks like we don't have much choice. I'll take the one of the right, you go for the one on the left.'

 'Got it.'

 Without even having to ask anything of Hinata, and only exchanging a single look, Hinata sent the Mech racing towards the Dateko Mech they'd been ordered to fight and Kageyama fired a round of bullets at it. He knew these bullets wouldn't do much more than slightly scratch the Dateko armour, but he needed to get their attention focus on him and Hinata, rather than going to fight two-on-one with Daichi and Suga.

 As soon as the bullets came at it, the Dateko Mech threw up its arms to protect the glass windows in its cockpit area. They began to stomp forward, undeterred by the onslaught. Kageyama tried to take out one of the legs but the bullets seemed to be having very little effect, just bouncing off and scattering all over the concrete road.

 'Move back, let's get them away from the others.'

 ''Kay!' Hinata pulled the Mech controls and started reversing away, while Kageyama kept firing. 'Couldn't we shoot another missile?'

 'Wouldn't do much good unless we're up close. They're not very powerful ones, they only create small explosions.'

 'Don't we have any like... _'Boom_!' ones?'

 'Too dangerous for us to use at this range, we'd get hit by the blast too. I've been told many times to not use those missiles unless necessary and it's likely I won't make it out alive anyway- WATCH IT.'

 The Dateko Mech had came rushing towards them, slamming into them and causing the roof to cave in slightly. Gritting his teeth, Hinata steered the Mech away, avoiding stumbling over broken building blocks covering the ground. Kageyama told him to go forward again, dodge the swing that Dateko attempted and he sent fist after fist into Dateko's middle but Dateko reached forward and pushed its metal hand inside of their Mech, through the broken window.

 'Shit.' Kageyama reached over and pushed Hinata down in his seat just in time, as the tips of the black fingers scraped against the leather-lined seating, exactly where Hinata's head had just been. 'Move us back.'

 Another jab with their hand, and the seating ripped open, revealing the spongy interior. The sound of the fingertips scraping against the metal roof made Hinata wince, and he took the opportunity when it finally came (when Dateko pulled their hand back for another jab) and sat up, grabbed the controls and used his quick-speed skill to get them as far away as possible.

 'How do you do that?' Kageyama found himself asking, staring at Hinata, who was pale-faced and on the verge of throwing up.

 'It just... happens, I don't know! I just know I need to move the Mech so I do.' Kageyama opened his mouth to say something, then pulled a pained expression and shut it again. He looked away from Hinata, scowling. 'Are you alright?'

 'Shut up. Dateko is coming.'

 Hinata, who had been gazing at Kageyama, jumped and turned to look. The Dateko Mech was making its way over to them quite quickly. They couldn't move the same way Hinata could, not in such a big, clunky machine, but they still had a decent pace.

  _'What do we do!? What do we do?!'_

It was probably the first time Hinata had seen Kageyama lose his cool. Not that he was panicking in the same way Hinata was, but he was sweating and looked strained and scared. It was a side of Kageyama he'd never really wanted to see and he was concerned. 'Should I just run?!'

 'I need to figure out a weak point!'

 'Then get to it!'

 'I'm trying!'

 The Dateko Mech reached them and tried to swipe, but Hinata moved away. 'We can't just dodge it forever! What if it starts shooting at us?'

 As though the Dateko Mech pilots heard him, or Hinata had just managed to jinx them, the arms of the enemy Mech raised up and the machine guns clicked into place.

 Hinata hadn't experienced gunfire on his own Mech before. It wasn't a pleasant experience. It made the entire thing shake and his teeth were chattering together in his head. He'd instinctively raised their arms to protect the weak point in their Mech- their shattered window- and was staring desperately at Kageyama for orders.

 'Stop looking at me! Stop it I don't-' He fell silent when a bullet managed to find its way through the gap between their Mech arms and slam straight into Hinata's shoulder. 'HINATA!'

 Crying, pain searing down his right arm, Hinata jammed the controls forwards and sent their Mech slamming into the Dateko one. He did it again and again, his face screwed up, too scared to really focus, with Kageyama screaming in his ear, until a cracking sound made him stop and back away. 

 'WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR? THEY WERE STILL SHOOTING AT US!' Kageyama was yelling, but he looked terrified. His eyes were fixed on the bullet wound in Hinata's shoulder, which was staining his suit even darker. 'The system is going to shut down, you've caused damage to our motor functions!'

 'I panicked! I just wanted them to stop!'

 They had stopped.

 It was eerily quiet.

 Both of the boys peered out the front of their Mech, lowering the arms gingerly. The Dateko Mech had crashed to the floor and both of the machine guns were lying on the ground at its side along with its arms. Kageyama looked gobsmacked. 'You broke the arms off.'

 'I did?!'

 'Yeah! Look!'

 'How?!'

 'You hit the arms straight on as they were raised, it must have snapped their joints.' Kageyama then jumped, as though electructed, and leaned over, getting himself well into Hinata's personal space. He had his face inches from Hinata's, his eyebrows knitted together as he examined the hole in Hinata's shoulder. He pressed a hand against it and Hinata made a hissing noise and he removed it quickly. 'We need to get you back.'

 'It's ok,' Hinata lied, tears rolling down his face. The pain he was experiencing was like nothing he'd felt before. His right arm felt numb and he was struggling to move his fingers. Adrenaline must have kicked in before to help him pilot the Mech, but now he wasn't sure he could be of much more use. 'I won't die.'

 'Keep your other hand on it,' Kageyama took Hinata's left wrist and raised his hand to his shoulder, making him apply pressure, despite how much Hinata complained and cried. 'You need to try and prevent any more bleeding. I don't need you passing out on me.'

 'It's not bleeding that much,' Hinata stated, despite his left hand already soaked in crimson blood. He felt faint. The pain was getting to him. 'It just hurts.'

 'I thought it had hit-' Kageyama stopped talking, glared at Hinata like it was his fault he was hurt and fell back into his seat. He was glaring at the Dateko Mech, which was trying to get up but having difficultly without arms to help support it. The weight of their machinery kept making it crash back down again, making them resemble little more than a stranded turtle that had fallen on its back. 'I'll finish this, you just sit back and keep the pressure on your shoulder.'

 Taking over controlling the Mech's movements, Kageyama stomped over to a wall that held some loose piping, ripped a chunk of it away, spraying their Mech, and them, with dirty water which made Hinata splutter, and moved back over to the Dateko Mech.

 Hinata had to look away.

 He didn't want to see.

 The sound alone was enough to make more tears spill from his eyes. The cracking of glass and the scream of whomever was inside losing their life as the metal pipe was slammed into them.

 Then Kageyama did it again, and again, and again. Hinata turned to look at him. He was livid, and the end of the pipe was bloody and covered in chunks of flesh.

 Hinata threw up over his own lap.

 This made Kageyama stop. He looked at Hinata for a moment, his expression falling and he dropped the pipe, which clattered away.

 Trying to ignore the sick sliding down his legs, Hinata sniffed loudly. 'Are they dead?'

 'I only got one...'

 A hissing sound made them both turn to look. The top of the Dateko Mech was lifted back and a man began to climb out. He was soaked in his pilots blood and was shaking. Hinata couldn't see the other pilot, just the blood-stained insides of their Mech.

 This man was big and built, with a shock of short white hair. He looked like the kind of guy Hinata would be terrified to meet in a dark room, he just gave off an intimidating vibe.

 Either through sheer bravery, or complete foolishness, perhaps aware he had no other option than to surrender, the man climbed onto the chest of his Mech and faced them, no expression or emotion visible on his face, but his dark eyes were full of fire. He stood his ground and clenched his fists.

 He was wearing a white-and-turquoise suit, although the majority of it was now red.

 'What is he doing?'

 'Waiting for us to kill him, I expect.' Kageyama said very quietly. He didn't want this man to hear him. Hinata shifted in his seat and more sick slopped onto the floor and his shoes. He ignored it.

 'Why? Why doesn't he want to fight?'

 'He knows he can't win. He's accepted his fate. He wants to die a man's honour.'

 Kageyama's hands were shaking. He was as white as a sheet. Hinata was worried he'd be throwing up next. He reached out, taking his hand away from his bullet wound, and took hold of Kageyama's wrist, leaving a bloody imprint from his still bleeding hand. 'You don't have to do it. We can just go.'

 'I can't. We can't leave him. He'll go back to Dateko...'

 'You're scared.'

 'S-shut up!' Kageyama yelled these words and the Dateko man looked a little startled. He raised his arms, inviting them to end it. 'It's not easy, killing people! You wouldn't know!'

 Hinata didn't know what to say. He just wanted to hug Kageyama and tell him it was ok. 'D-do you want me to do it?'

 'No!' Kageyama snapped, turning to face him. Hinata had never seen him so angry. 'You will never, _ever_ kill another person while you are my partner, do you understand that?!'

 The intercom crackled. Kageyama slammed his hand down onto it. Daichi's voice echoed through to them. 'Guys, we did it! They're all down! I'm sending Tanaka and Noya over to fetch you, are you ok?'

 'Hinata's injured.'

 'Is he alive?'

 'Yes, I'm fine! It's just a bullet wound.'

 'I think that's a little worse than fine.' Suga said.

 'It's just my shoulder. It's ok. I'll survive.'

 Stomping and clanking made them turn to look to their right. Tanaka and Noya's Mech was coming towards them, half of the top ripped away so Noya was visible. He was waving brightly to them, despite being soaked in blood from a nasty gash on his collar-bone and one his fingers looked broken.

 They stopped close by and Noya's face fell as he spotted the Dateko man, just stood silently watching. He frowned at them and jabbed a finger at the control panel. Kageyama hit the intercom again.

 'The fuck are you guys doing?'

 'Hinata threw up.'

 'Don't tell them that!'

 Tanaka laughed. Noya didn't. He was completely serious. 'Why haven't you killed him?'

 'W-w-well,' Kageyama began, but before he could get any sort of sentence out, Noya had twisted their Mech around at a forty-five degree angle and shot the Dateko man with the gun on Tanaka's side, as his arm wasn't working. The round of bullets completely ripped into this man's chest and he fell backwards and out of sight. Hinata and Kageyama both stared, wide-eyed.

 'Why did you do that?!' Kageyama shouted. Noya seemed pissed off, Hinata could sense it in the way he spoke back.

 'He's the enemy! Why are you going soft?!'

 'He looked scared.' Hinata mumbled. 'You didn't see his face, Noya, he looked genuinely terrified.'

 'So?'

 'It's just... they're humans too...'

 'That's the man who tortured Asahi! He'd told me himself that he sees that man in his nightmares, he's the one who killed Mori, he doesn't deserve your fucking sympathy!'

 'How does he know it was that guy?' Tanaka's voice interrupted.

 'Asahi said his window was broken- does it matter?' Noya huffed. 'Is the other guy dead?'

 'Yeah.' Kageyama said.

 'Good. Come on then, Daichi wants us to head back to the base.'

 'Four of the girls died,' Tanaka sniffed, sounding like he was ready to cry. 'I should have protected them.'

 'What's everyone's status?' Hinata said, moving the Mech and following the other two because Kageyama had slumped down in his seat and wasn't saying anything and was staring at his feet. It was harder to do with just one hand.

 'We're all fine, we're all beaten up and stuff, but we'll make it.' Tanaka replied. Noya decided he didn't want to talk anymore.

 ***

 When they got back to the base, before Hinata could even try to make his way over to Asahi and the other Medics to get his shoulder seen to, Daichi was standing in front of him and Kageyama, looking serious. Both of them recoiled, they knew this face. They were about to get a lecture.

 'Noya tells me you wouldn't kill the Dateko pilot. Why?'

 'It's-' Hinata began but Kageyama cut him off.

 'It's my fault. I lost my temper and brutally killed one of them and seeing it after the other guy climbed out freaked me out and I panicked.'

 Daichi sighed and placed a hand on Kageyama's shoulder. 'I'm going to let you off with a warning this time, Kageyama. I know killing isn't easy, I face a lot of moral issues myself, we all do, but we can't risk letting any of them go... if you can't handle killing, you can't go out on any more missions.'

 Kageyama stood up straight and stared Daichi straight in the eye. 'I can handle it.'

 'That's what I want to hear. Go get cleaned up, both of you.'


	6. Chapter 6

 Asahi sobbed when he learned that they had actually gone up against Dateko and not Nekoma. He wasn't mad at them for lying to him, he understood why they had done it, but he still spent many hours crying and hugging each person individually, for as long as possible, before they shook him off.

 Hinata had the bullet removed from his shoulder and was all bandaged up. He still couldn't move his right arm very well, it felt really stiff, but Asahi said he'd be fine once the wound healed up and he was to make sure he kept on top of his physical exercises to help his arm return to normal.

 Major Ukai gave them all praise on how well they had done, saying they had definitely improved so much as a team since the last time they fought Dateko, and having Kageyama and Hinata by their side was one of the best things that could have happened for them.

 'Is Dateko completely gone now?' Hinata asked Ukai as he sat on the edge of Area 12, his arm in a sling, eating food he'd snuck out of the cafeteria. Ukai was stood with Captain Takeda, holding clipboards and looking over each Mech to assess damages and what would need to be repaired or replaced. Kiyoko was sat in Hinata's seat (Kageyama had made him clean inside after he'd vomited) and was putting in new glass panels in the windows. Tanaka was trying to talk to her, stood at the foot of the Mech, but she was ignoring him.

 'A few of them escaped, our numbers have improved dramatically since the last time we fought them and our skills even more so,' Ukai replied. 'They thought they could still beat us with the same tricks they used last time. I doubt they'll try anything again soon, especially if they only have a small number left. It's likely the ones that survived will go on to join up with Nekoma or Aoba Johsai.'

 Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were sat on the opposite side of the room, just talking quietly to each other. Yamaguchi had come away from the last battle with very minor injuries and only really had one visible plaster on his cheek. Tsukishima, on the other hand, had managed to break his wrist, which was now in a cast, and he had an eye-patch over his left eye after a piece of metal had scratched the cornea. Asahi had assured him his vision would be alright, he just needed to keep his eye shut and not let in any sunlight (or the harsh neon lighting of the base, Tsukishima corrected him, since they only saw sunlight when out on a mission) until it had healed.

 Kageyama had apologised to Hinata. At least, he'd attempted to.

 'I'm suff-sof-sor-sorry.' He'd spluttered, red in the face. Hinata couldn't help but laugh, which only wound Kageyama up more. 'Stop it! I'm trying to apologise!'

 'You're really starting to grow up,' Daichi commented as he passed by with Suga. They were both carrying large cardboard boxes. Kageyama scowled. 'Don't give me that look, it's a good thing. It takes a decent man to apologise for his mistakes.'

 'What are you apologising for?' Suga asked. Kageyama shrugged, looking embarrassed, and wandered away. They both turned towards Hinata.

 'I think he's upset about losing control of his emotions yesterday,' Hinata explained, telling them about how Kageyama had been upset Hinata had gotten hurt and taken his frustration out on the Dateko Mech and pilot with the pipe. 'It was really scary.'

 'He's always been like that. Doesn't know how to handle his feelings.' Suga sighed. Daichi nodded.

 'He's learning though, which is a good thing. I think having you as his Mech partner is really helping him to mature.'

 Hinata couldn't help but beam.

 Then he let his face fall. 'I know we're not supposed to have any sort of emotional feelings towards the enemy, but it terrified me the way Noya just... shot that man from Dateko.' Both Daichi and Suga raised an eyebrow at him and Hinata felt like he'd said something wrong. He babbled the rest of the words. 'Not that I think he should have survived, I just mean, he didn't even blink... I mean, it's still another person's life...'

 'Hinata, calm down.' Daichi said. Hinata shut up. 'I understand how you feel, it's lot easier to kill someone when they're hidden inside a Mech. You can tell yourself you're just destroy a machine. Seeing that man stood out in the open must have been difficult for you, especially since you're pretty new to all of this.'

 'The best thing to do is to not dwell on things like this, they'll only get to you,' Suga said, shifting the box in his hands.  'The best thing you can do is not view them as people, and I know that's difficult, but look what they did to the city beyond these walls, think of the thousands of people they have slaughtered to try and rule. They're monsters.'

 Daichi was nodding. 'We're fighting for a better future. I'm fighting so one day I can leave this base and see the rest of the world, or what's left of it, and start a new life and have a family.'

 Suga's eyes drifted over to Daichi for a moment. He then turned back to Hinata, who was still frowning. 'But you didn't see him. He looked so defeated. He was surrendering. We could have taken him prisoner or something.'

 'That's probably what he wanted,' Daichi said. 'He probably thought his best chance of survival was to surrender and get taken in as a hostage and then destroy us from the inside. If he had escaped and leaked information back to Dateko, we'd be the ones to blame for not killing him on the battlefield.'

 'Noya's not usually like that anyway,' Suga smiled at Hinata, who felt all the stress in his body leave him at once. Suga had such a calming aura about him. 'He was just upset for what they had done to Asahi.'

 'I've not seen them spend much time together,' Hinata pointed out. 'I always figured Noya's personality would be too loud for Asahi's.'

 Suga shook his head. 'They get along really well. Noya does talk a lot but I think Asahi likes to listen anyway. He doesn't come down to the base much because the Mech's scare him so Noya's usually in the Medical Ward instead. He's probably there now actually, I can't see him in here.'

 'Anyway, come help us set up in the cafeteria.' Daichi shook the box at him.

 'Oh? What for?'

 'We're throwing a party!' Suga said excitedly. 'Every single other group is going to be there, all the higher ups, it'll be a good opportunity for you to meet new people.'

 Hinata's eyes grew wide and sparkly. 'A party?! I don't know what that is but it sounds exciting!'

 'Lots of people gather together to celebrate something, in our case, winning against Dateko. They will be party banners and balloons and cake and lots of food and alcohol.'

 'Can I drink?' Hinata asked. Daichi smiled.

 'You can, just this once.'

 Bouncing as he walked, Hinata followed Daichi and Suga to the cafeteria where other groups were helping to set up. They'd already pinned up colourful streamers and bunting along the walls, cut up from old scraps of coloured filing paper, and others were carrying in wooden barrels which Daichi said were barrels of wine kept in the basement for special occasions. He and Suga put their boxes down on the table and Hinata stood on a chair to peer into them. They were full of weirdly shaped rubber items.

 He fished one out, which was red.

 'It's a balloon.' Suga giggled at Hinata's bemused expression. 'There's an old abandoned party store near to our base that Noya raided once, so we had all these just in the back room of our area. I figured this would be a good opportunity to use them.'

  'What do you do with them?'

  'Here, watch. You blow them up.' Suga took the balloon from Hinata, gave it a stretch and blew into it. Hinata gasped, leaning onto the table, as the balloon inflated in front of him. When it had reached about the same size as Suga's face, he stopped blowing and tied the end of it and then whacked it at Daichi's head.

 'That's awesome!' Hinata grabbed a green one and let Suga explain to him how to blow it up. He ended up letting it go in his excitement when it was half-inflated and it made a raspberry noise as it shot out of his grasp and flew across the room, spinning in circles in mid-air. A few people laughed and some rolled their eyes. 'Oops!'

 He eventually got the hang of it and learnt how to tie them off so the air wouldn't escape and Daichi left him and Suga in charge of blowing up both of the boxes while he went to help sort out the food for the party.

 'I love discovering new things,' Hinata said, holding a pink balloon in his hands and peering through it. 'I wonder if I knew what balloons were before I had my memory wiped.'

 'No idea,' Suga tossed a blue one over his shoulder. The table was littered with thirty or so balloons by this point. They still had loads to get through. Suga said a hundred would probably be enough and they could save the rest for another time. 'Our pasts are always going to be a mystery.'

 'Yeah, I guess.' Hinata sighed, watching a woman across the room who was sat nursing a newborn baby. It had been born two weeks prior and Hinata had been thrilled to hear the news, despite having no knowledge of who this woman was. He just thought the idea that there was a new life in the world, safe and protected within the walls of the Crow's Allegiance, and that the baby would grow up knowing it's family was absolutely wonderful. He turned to Suga. 'Ukai was born here, right?'

 'Yeah,' Suga nodded, tying off a balloon. He hit it against Hinata's head. 'At least I think so.'

 'You think?'

 'He's never said he was, but he must have been.' Suga shrugged. 'I just don't think he likes to talk about his past, not after his parents died.'

 'I didn't know that!'

 'No, well, he doesn't talk about it,' Suga began counting how many balloons they'd blown up. 'They died when he was little, that's all I know. I think they were partners.'

 'Would you want to have children?' Hinata asked out of nowhere. He was just watching the baby, wondering what it was like to be a father. Suga shrugged.

 'Looking after you lot is hard enough,' he joked, picking out twenty more balloons for them to blow up. 'Here, you do these ten.'

 'Daichi said he wants a family. Does he have a girlfriend?' Hinata said. Suga stiffened a little and then laughed gently.

 'No, no, he doesn't have the time.'

 Hinata twisted the balloon rubber in his hands for a moment before asking, 'Is it frowned upon for boys to date boys here?'

 Suga choked. 'What? Why are you asking?'

 Hinata blushed and looked away. 'No reason! I was just curious.'

 'There's no rule against it, not that I know of.' Suga responded and went back to blowing up balloons.

 A girl then approached Hinata and took the balloon he'd just blown up off of him, spinning it in her hands. Hinata recognised her as Yui Michimaya, the girl who had spoken up to General Ukai on their first day. She was a little shorter than Hinata and had short brown hair that matched the colour of her eyes. 'Hey. You're Shouyou Hinata, yeah?'

 'Y-yeah.' Hinata nodded. She smiled.

 'I'm Yui Michimiya, I was on the team who went out with you to fight Dateko.'

 'Oh, yes...'

 'I was just wondering... how did you move your Mech so fast? It was incredible. Everyone on my team was baffled.'

 Feeling bashful, Hinata rubbed the back of his neck. 'I don't really know how I do it, I just do. My partner, Kageyama, just tells me what to do and I do it... I don't really know what else I can say. I'm sorry.'

 She looked a little disappointed. 'Ah well, maybe you can show me sometime.'

 'Uh, yeah, I guess.'

 'Cool! Talk to you later, Hinata!' She walked off, still holding the balloon. He let his body sag.

 'She's going to expect me to be able to recreate it and it'll end with me failing again!' He wailed and Suga leaned over and rubbed a balloon against Hinata's head, making his hair stand up on end. This immediately took Hinata's mind off of failing to perform in a Mech and he started trying to desperately flatten his hair. Daichi had come over and snuck up behind Suga and done the balloon prank on him, and Suga wasn't pleased about it.

 'I'll get you back for that.' He warned Daichi who just laughed and told them to gather up as many balloons as they could carry and follow him to the edge of the room, where they'd be stringing the balloons up on the walls.

 Asahi and Tsukishima had joined them, as both of them were very tall, to help tie balloons to the lights that hung from the ceiling. Tsukishima did it without complaint but Asahi looked terrified as he wobbled on top of a ladder and kept dropping the balloons he was supposed to be hanging.

 By the time the evening rolled around and the party was getting started, Captain Takeda and Major Ukai had already been drinking for a couple of hours and were sat in a corner laughing, red-faced and falling into each other.

 Daichi and Suga had gone off to speak with other Lieutenants, greeting many with open arms, as it was common for Lieutenants to interact with each other outside of their assigned areas, and Tanaka and Noya trying their hardest to chat up every single female in the room, not that anyone was interested in two overly-loud, overly-eager teenagers, especially as Saeko kept butting in to tell the girls that her little brother still wet the bed and pushed him out of the way when he tried to defend himself.

 Hinata started to get a lot more attention the more people entered the cafeteria. The news had spread about Hinata's 'Quick' movement and everyone was interested, many other pilots wanting to know exactly how he'd done it and if he'd be willing to demonstrate to a group of them. Although Hinata was overwhelmed by all the attention and praise, and was smiling, his chest felt very tight and he was scared he'd stop being able to breathe soon.

 It wasn't long before Kageyama pulled him out of the centre of a large crowd, telling everyone to piss off, and got Hinata into some space where he could breathe again. 'It's not that I don't like it, being admired and stuff,' Hinata told him honestly. 'It's just the pressure of having to repeat myself. What if I fail? I couldn't do it last time.'

 'We won't show anyone until you can do it without even thinking about it.' Kageyama reassured him, slapping him on the shoulder.

 No one was wearing their Mech uniforms today, which Hinata found so bizarre. He was so used to everyone being in the same get-up, apart from the Medics and the higher-ups, who wore more formal attire. Today, everyone was a lot more lax, in loose fitting grey or white shirts and plain black or grey sweatpants-like trousers, usually the type of clothing everyone slept in.

 'It's kind of like a pyjama party.' Hinata said and Kageyama just looked at him.

 'Let's get a drink.' He said and pushed Hinata over to the table where they were serving cups of beer and wine.

 Hinata didn't like either. The beer was disgusting and the wine was bitter, so he just had water instead. He had very little interest in getting drunk, unlike the rest of his team.

 Daichi and Suga had gotten themselves into an extremely competitive drinking competition against each other, with people gathered around them, placing bets and cheering each person on. Hinata had no idea what the rules were and didn't bother to ask, he was just glad no one expected him to join in as he was certain he could not down a beer at all and would probably throw up. He didn't want to throw up in front of this crowd, not when they all thought of him as this amazing Mech pilot.

 Tanaka and Noya were sat with Yamaguchi, who was looking very wobbly and smiling thickly, both peering really closely at his face. Hinata and Kageyama took a seat across from them. 'What are you doing?'

 'We were counting his freckles.' Noya said, squinting. 'I bet Ryu there were more than a hundred.'

 'I call bullshit on that.' Tanaka said, not being gentle at all when he grabbed Yamaguchi's face and twisted it to the side so he could get a better look at the freckles on his right cheek. 'There's got to be less.'

 'How you guys find such exciting forms of entertainment, I'll never know.' Kageyama said, reminding Hinata of Tsukishima with his level of sarcasm. A few drinks had made him rather sharp-tongued and he kept trying to order Hinata around, like he thought they were in the Mech together.

 'Are you two not drinking?' Hinata asked, ignoring Kageyama when he insisted Hinata go fetch him another beer. Tanaka pulled a face.

 'And miss out on picking up the honeys? I've got to keep a level head.' He tapped at his own head, which was freshly-shaven. His sister, Saeko, had dropped by that morning to give everyone a haircut. She didn't dye Noya's hair though, she said she'd get around to that later.

 'I wish the girls were all wearing their uniforms, they're so form-fitting and pleasant.' Noya sighed, watching two girls walk by in baggy clothing. Tanaka was nodding beside him.

 'It's funny how women don't exist just to suit you,' Tsukishima had joined them at the table, taking a seat next to Hinata, which surprised him. His cheeks were a little flushed and he was holding a beer, so he was probably a little drunk. 'What are you doing to Yamaguchi?'

 'We were counting his freckles,' Tanaka said, poking Yamaguchi in the face. Tsukishima frowned. 'I lost count though. Noya reckons there's more than a hundred.'

 'No.' Tsukishima said and everyone stopped to look at him. He took a swig of his drink and sighed. 'There are eighty-one. Come on, Yamaguchi, I want to go somewhere else.'

 The group watched as they disappeared into the crowd together. Tanka looked puzzled. 'How the Hell did he know that?'

 'They do spend a lot of time together...' Hinata said, as Asahi appeared through a throng of people and came and joined them at the table, sitting next to Noya. He was still in his Medical wear. 'Have you come from the Ward?'

 'Yeah, there are still patients who need looking after.' He said, shaking his head when Tanaka offered to get him a drink. 'I can't stay too long, we're taking shifts.'

 'That's lame! You should see Asahi drunk, Shouyou, he's so funny!' Noya grinned at Asahi, who went pink and told Noya to keep it down.

 'As a Medical staff member, I'm not supposed to be drinking at all, it's against the rules-'

 'Who cares about rules!' Noya smirked. 'You weren't bothered when it was my birthday, you were throwing it down!'

 'I wasn't! Hinata, I swear, I'm not as bad as they're making out-'

 'Hey!' An unknown female had appeared, which immediately got Tanaka and Noya's attention. She wasn't looking at them though, she was staring at Hinata. 'You're that kid who did the Quick, aren't you? Ah, no, don't look so embarrassed, I think it's awesome. I hear you'll be giving a demonstration at some point? I'd love to come and see, if that's ok. You two make such an amazing team!'

 She took off.

 Hinata sighed and turned to look at Kageyama and almost fell off of his seat. Everyone else gasped too. He was smiling- or at least he looked like he was trying to.

 'What's wrong with your face?!' Noya cried.

 'What are you thinking? You won't get your own way!' Hinata stammered, trying to climb over the table. Asahi jumped up, moving out of the way so Hinata could slip over onto the other side.

 'Hinata, stop climbing over the table.' Tanaka said.

 'I don't think that's a scheming face, I think he's smiling... Maybe.' Noya peered at Kageyama, who had stopped smiling and was looking grumpy again. Asahi leaned to whisper to Noya.

 'Don't say maybe, Nishinoya!'

 A huge cheer from the middle of the room made them all look over. Suga was stood on top of table, holding an empty glass in the air, while everyone clapped and shouted. He was grinning broadly and took a step, wobbled and toppled over, disappearing into the crowd, which had managed to catch him before he hit the floor.

 He and Daichi were carried over to the table where their crew were sat and helped into seats, many people coming over to slap Suga on the back before running off to collect their reward from winning a bet. Money wasn't really a thing in the base, so people were swapping luxury items like soap and chocolate.

 'How much did you drink?' Tanaka asked as Daichi fell off his chair with a loud and probably painful thud. He began to laugh, clutching at his stomach. Suga was laughing too, trying to climb under the table to get to Daichi but Asahi pulled him back up.

 Suga punched him in the stomach.

 Although it winded Asahi, it hadn't meant to be a violent punch. Suga was often giving them little whacks on the arm in their area, as a sign of support and getting everyone into a 'let's do it!' attitude, but he'd gone a little overboard this time and left Asahi curled up on the floor.

 Noya and Tanaka dived away from him, not wanting to be hit. Irritated that they didn't want his affection, Suga tried to get to his feet to go after them but he ended up staggering and tripping over Asahi. Random strangers dove in to help them both up, two of them having to steady Suga.

 Despite the fact that neither Suga or Daichi would stay on their feet, Hinata thought it was great that they'd gotten drunk. So many of the people in the room who'd been drinking looked so happy, which was something he wasn't used to seeing. He had decided that he himself was a happy person and wanted to make everyone around him feel the same level of joy he did, but facing a war could really change a person or bring someone down. Although both Daichi and Suga never acted miserable or depressed, they often wore serious expressions and sat by themselves a lot, just staring into space.

 Even Kageyama was laughing, which was really freaking Hinata out.

 He had no desire to get drunk himself, he didn't need that release, he didn't face the same terrors that everyone else in this room did. He had yet to kill. Even though he still saw that Dateko man being shot to death in his nightmares, it had not been his hand that had pulled the trigger, so he could tell himself that it wasn't his fault and push it away from his main thoughts.

 It was the food that really topped off such an excellent night. Proper meat, nothing like Hinata had eaten before, roasted and smothered in spices that made his face turn redder than his hair. There was something called beef, which he'd never seen before, which ripped apart so easily and tasted extraordinary. He was a little disappointed when his share was done, as they said it was very unlikely they'd be able to get their hands on any more. Cows were hard to come by in the wasteland city, people had to travel really far out to where the countryside started, not that there was much of that left.

 General Ukai ended the party by giving a speech, which Hinata found himself tuning out. He was so full of food, all he wanted to do was sleep. He was gazing happily around the room, stopping at each member of his team, his heart swelling with pride at the sight of each of them and knowing that they were the best family he could have asked for.

 Suga was sat leaning on Daichi's shoulder, dropping to sleep himself, a silly smile on his lips. Daichi had one hand on Suga's knee and was resting his head on top of Suga's. They looked really peaceful and content.

 Asahi was mobile, while everyone else sat still and listened. He was picking up Noya, who had fallen asleep under a table, and was waiting for Tanaka to grab as much leftover food as possible before the three of them left the cafeteria together.

 Yamaguchi was holding onto Tsukishima's wrist. Hinata tilted his head as he observed them, wondering if Yamaguchi was hoping he'd be able to hold Tsukishima's hand instead.

 He finally brought his focus round to Kageyama, who had not left his side all night. He'd sobered up once he'd stopped drinking (only because they ran out of beer) and was starting to look like his usual grumpy self. His eyes were half-closed and he kept lolling his head and Hinata was worried he'd topple off the tabletop where they sat.

 'Shall we go to bed?' He whispered. Kageyama nodded and took Hinata's wrist.

 They headed out of the cafeteria, Hinata waving to several people as he passed, and they entered the dark, quiet corridors of the base. It was much cooler out here, away from the crowd of people. It was a nice change, his shirt had started to stick to his skin.

 Allowing Kageyama to lead the way, as Hinata still couldn't navigate his way around the base, they walked through Area 12 and stepped into their dorm room, where Asahi was tucking Noya up in his bunk and Tanaka had climbed in the one overhead, pulling off his shirt. He dropped it on Asahi's head and stretched out his entire body, his blankets almost slipping over the side.

 'Do you two need a drink of water or anything?' Asahi asked kindly. Hinata nodded.

 Kageyama collapsed onto his bunk but kept hold of Hinata's wrist. He blinked at him. 'Uh, do you need something.'

 'Get in.'

 'What?!'

 Kageyama didn't ask again. He pulled and Hinata collapsed onto the bed. Kageyama shuffled to one side to give Hinata some room.

 Feeling quite hot in the face, Hinata lay down facing Kageyama, who was pretty much falling asleep, unwilling to let up his grip on Hinata's wrist. Hinata decided he'd just wait until Kageyama had drifted off before he got up and got in his own bed, but he ended up staring at Kageyama for a while, just watching him sleep peacefully.

 Other team members came into the dorm and started getting ready for bed, but no one questioned why Hinata was in Kageyama's bed. He was facing away from them, so they probably assumed he was asleep. Someone, probably Suga, placed a blanket over the both of them.

 Soon, it was silent again, only the sound of soft breathing could be heard as everyone slept. Hinata smiled and shuffled in a little closer to Kageyama, who mumbled something in his sleep.

 'I'm really glad I got you as my partner.' Hinata whispered before closing his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

 There was little time for Kageyama to be mad at Hinata the following morning for falling asleep next to him in his bunk, because Daichi was shaking him awake and ordering him to get up and get changed into his jumpsuit. They were bickering with each other as they pulled on their clothing but Daichi left them to it and headed out into the main room of their Area, dragging his fingers through his hair as he ran over to the control room where both Ukai and Takeda were preparing the monitors and com-systems.

 'What's going on?' He tried to stifle a yawn. It was about four in the morning and his eyes felt heavy. 'Who's attacking?'

 'It's Aoba Johsai,' Ukai informed him, as Noya and Tanaka ran by, heading towards their Mech, Tanaka only half into his uniform. 'They pulled the same stunt as last time and we've only just picked them up. They're getting closer to the base. Other teams have already been sent out to push them back but they need more back up. Get going.'

 'Roger.' Daichi nodded and ran over to his Mech, where Suga was waiting for him, already strapped in. He pulled himself in and grabbed his belt while Suga reached up to pull down the top and locked it in place. He hadn't brushed his hair and it was sticking out at odd angles. He yawned, making Daichi yawn.

 The orange light began to flash and Daichi switched on the com. 'Are we ready to go?'

 'Yep,' Captain Takeda replied, his voice crackling a bit. 'Hinata and Kageyama are just strapping themselves in, but everyone else is ready to go. Head North as soon as you get outside, you'll run into them in about a mile. There are about ten Aoba Johsai Mechs, so the girls are going to be joining your group again.'

 'Any reports about the quality of their Mechs? We struggled against them last time.' Daichi said, looking at Suga out the corner of his eye. He looked determined.

 'Nothing new, same as last time. Try and get Kageyama to take a look at many as possible, he can spot these things better than any of us.' Ukai said.

 'Opening the exit now.' Takeda told them. 'Start moving out immediately.'

 'They couldn't have given us five more minutes!' Tanaka's voice cut across, followed by an annoyingly loud yawn. 'My head is thumping!'

 'Focus, Tanaka. Tell me right now if you're not fit to fight.'

 'Of course I am,' he snorted, as though disgusted Daichi would even suggest such a thing. 'Noya looks terrible but-'

 'Hey! I'm fine! I look as hot as I always do!'

 'We're great, boss. Just lead the way.'

 The com went silent.

 Daichi waited for a moment as the metal door slid upwards, out of sight, before pushing forwards on the Mech controls and leading his team out of the doors into the wastelands. He kept on North, like he'd been instructed, and leaned back in his seat, focusing on his breathing while he tried to wake himself up properly.

 'God, I'm so tired.' He mumbled, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand.

 'I could slap you if you wanted? That might wake you up a little.' Suga suggested. Daichi turned to look at him, trying not to smile.

 'Just try it.'

 'What are you going to do? Stop me from piloting a Mech?' He grinned back playfully.

 'Maybe I should swap you with Hinata.'

 'You'd miss me if I was gone.'

 Daichi chuckled in his throat and turned his attention back to the road in front of him. They had about half a mile to go before they would, potentially, hit Aoba Johsai Mechs. 'Yeah, I would.'

  'Aoba Mechs at three o'clock! There's five heading straight at you! Five are going round, I think they're planning on attacking from behind. Brace yourselves!' Ukai's voice filled their cockpit.

 Spinning their Mech round, he started heading to his right, while Suga brought up the arms and readied their machine guns.

 From a side street, five Aoba Johsai Mechs appeared, speeding towards them, flashing white-and-blue in the sunlight. They were grouped together, four of them surrounding one in the centre. Suga opened fire, bullets causing sparks to fly as they scraped the metal of the Aoba Johsai Mechs.

 More bullets were sent from either side of them, as Tanaka and Noya's Mech had joined their side. The other two were now fighting with the five that snuck up from behind. The girls team had yet to make an appearance.

 The group in front of them split up and three of them crashed their Mechs into Daichi's, but he was ready for it and put all of their weight forwards, their metal hands grabbing hold of the Aoba Mech on either side of the central one, stopping them from being forced onto their back. The sound of their feet scraping against the concrete was worse than nails on a blackboard.

 'The Mech on the right has a crack in the window, send your fist through it.' Suga told Daichi and he followed orders almost instantaneously, moving their Mech hand over to the window and punching straight through the glass. He pulled his fist back and moved their Mech to the right, breaking away from the Aoba Mechs and into some open space.

 Unfortunately, the Mech he'd attacked was still moving, although a lot slower now. There was blood on their own Mech hand but there was no way of knowing if the pilot inside was dead or just too injured to fight anymore.

 This Mech was protected almost at once by the other two, which started throwing punches their way. Daichi got their arms up to block the attacks, while Suga kept their Mech upright and standing its ground. In the distance, Daichi could just make out Tsukishima's Mech taking on two at once.

 'Takeda, where are the girls?' He shouted. Unlike the other Mechs in their team, Daichi didn't have to press any buttons to connect to Takeda or Ukai. They were always available to him. He'd only need to press buttons if he wanted to talk to a team member, but usually he just had Takeda patch him through. 'We're fighting two-to-one here. I think Kageyama and Hinata have three after them.'

 'They got ambushed by more Aoba Johsai Mechs on the way to you! There are hundreds of them, more than we've ever faced, thankfully the majority of them have gone after the bigger teams. The Special Forces have been sent out but it's unlikely we can get any to you currently, their primary focus is the stop them getting too near the base. Are you ok? Can you manage?'

 'Yes, I think so.' Daichi said.

 Taking a chance when one of the Aoba Mechs stopped attacking, Suga fired a small explosive at them, which didn't break any of the metal or the windows, but did force them backwards and they knocked over the first Mech they'd attacked, which Suga told Daichi to head towards.

 He twisted their Mech away from the third Aoba one, slamming a metal elbow into its side to make it get out of their way, he forced their Mech forwards as quickly as possible, wishing he could do one of Hinata's 'Quicks' and Suga seized the opportunity to stamp on top of the Aoba Mech while it was down and struggling to get itself back up.

 There was a reassuring sound of glass smashing and someone shrieked, but both of the other two Aoba Mechs appeared and threw their Mech as far back as possible.

 'They're helping them up.' Suga pointed out the window. The two Mechs had now appeared to have lost all interest in Daichi and Suga and were helping up the fallen Aoba Johsai Mech. 'Are they going to retreat?'

 It turned out, they weren't, they were just moving the damaged Mech to one side, away from the main fighting. Hinata and Kageyama zoomed by, faster than anyone, and three more Aoba Mechs sped after them. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi and the two Mechs they'd been fighting had disappeared down another road and could no longer be seen. Tanaka and Noya were blasting as many missiles at possible at the two they were battling in an attempt to keep them back.

 'Are you two doing ok?' Daichi asked, pressing the button on the control panel that connected him to Tsukishima.

 'Just splendid.'

 'It's good to know you're not panicking.'

 'I don't like getting hot-blooded. It's irritating.'

 'They're coming back for us, Daichi.' Suga was whacking his arm. Daichi turned the Mech and started running down the side street they'd first seen the enemy, leading them into a more enclosed area. 'What are you doing?'

 'We need to do as much damage to their Mechs as possible, and since bullets and punches don't seem to do much unless we can get really close, which they're probably not going to try again since we took down the first one, the best bet would be to do what Kageyama did to that Dateko Mech and shove them into as many buildings as possible.' Daichi explained. 'Their machinery is designed to stop bullets, not concrete.'

  'Kageyama was only fighting against one Dateko Mech, we have two after us.'

  'We won't know until we try.'

 He skidded to a halt and spun the Mech round to face the Aoba ones. They both also stopped, waiting for the attack. Suga nodded to the one on the left, which looked like its leg was a little twisted. 'Go for that one.'

 'Ok, I'm going to make it look like we're heading for the on the right, so you fire bullets at it, but then at the last minute, I'll change course and slam our Mech into the one with the gammy leg.' Suga tried not to smile and gave Daichi a thumbs up.

 Starting the Mech forward as quickly as possible, Daichi sped towards the Mech on the right, which braced itself for impact, holding up its arms to stop the bullets hitting its face, and at the last minute, Daichi swerved and collided their Mech into the one with the, as he had put it, 'gammy leg'.

 Fists were flying from both of them and the Mech was shaking. Suga grabbed hold of one of the arms by the elbow joint and bent it backwards, the metal screeching in protest. They didn't have long to attack this Mech, however, as the one they'd done the feint on was behind them, arms wrapping around their middle and lifting them off their feet

 'What is it doing!?' Daichi cried, kicking their legs but it hit nothing.

 They were then tipped upside down and dumped on their head, the glass in their panel cracking at the edges from impact. Both Daichi and Suga fell from their seats, hitting their heads on the roof, held upside down by their seatbelts. 

 'Well, this is new.' Suga said with an air of being impressed. Daichi glared at him. 'Our best option would be to fall onto our front.'

 'We'll be completely exposed!'

 'If we fall onto our back they can stomp on our window, and that could easily kills us. The backs of our Mechs are re-enforced for sneak attacks. A stamp or two won't do too much damage.'

 'Whatever you say, boss.' Daichi couldn't help wink at him and, before the Aoba Johsai Mech could lift them up again, which they were trying to do by the sound of the metal scraping noises, he forced their Mech to tip so they landed face-down, staring at the concrete road.

 As predicted, the enemy started stomping on their back, which made more of their glass crack.

 'When they lift their foot, push us up as hard as you can,' Suga instructed, and Daichi followed orders without question. A stomp came, making their Mech groan, and when it was lifted away, he and Suga worked together to use enough force to fling their Mech backwards, crashing into the Aoba Mech, which was balancing on one leg, and send it toppling to the floor.

 Getting the Mech on its feet, they began aiming kicks at the fallen Mech, but the second one was there, pushing them away, some of its top caved in.

 'They just won't quit.' Suga sighed, as though the whole situation was just a little irritating.

 The same routine continued for a while, as they simply couldn't take on two at once. They'd find a way to push one of the enemy Mechs back and then attack the second, but they couldn't get in enough hits to bring the Mech down as the first would come straight back to defend their comrade.

 No other Mechs, friend or foe, could be seen now, they'd moved quite far away from the main battle, and Daichi was getting worried, even though Takeda hadn't reported anything to him through the com. He wanted to check up on his team but he just didn't have the time to stop and think about it, as the Aoba Mechs would not give up.

 'What was it that Kageyama did? He blasted them straight through the middle.' Daichi said, dodging a swing and letting Suga punch at the Aoba Mech. Suga pulled a face.

 'Yeah, but that caused a far bit of damage the first time, and neither of us can move as quickly as Hinata can. We wouldn't be able to get away in time.'

 'What if we just spin the Mech around at the middle?' Daichi winced as the glass on his side shattered and came flying in to the cockpit, scratching at the bare skin of his face. Suga frowned.  

'What?'

 'You said the back is strong on our Mechs, since we expect a lot of sneak attacks, do you think it could take a small  explosion?'

 'Maybe. I don't know. It's risky.' Suga thought about it for a minute, while firing bullets in attempt to hit the Aoba Johsai cockpit windows. 'Ok, let's try it.'

 'Are you sure?'

 'It was your idea!'

 'I know, but I'm not going to go through with anything unless you're a hundred percent satisfied.'

 'No, it's fine. Let's push away the one with the twisted leg and blast through the other one. Make you spin us around in time and prepare yourself, we're probably going to be thrown quite far.'

 After a loop or two around the enemy, just to confuse them, Daichi hurled their Mech against the one with the twisted leg and sent it stumbling out of the way. The second Aoba Mech came straight at them, and they let it, allowing it to grab the sides of their Mech with each hand. It began to pull, trying to rip the top off, but Suga quickly brought both of their arms up, hit the Aoba Mech at the elbow joints, which cracked but didn't break off completely, and then aimed a missile at the centre of its chest while its guard was down.

 As soon as Suga hit the button to fire a small missile, Daichi span the Mech as fast as he could at the centre, just fast enough for them to be facing as far from the blast that none of the fire got through their window. The explosion was noisy and hurt Daichi's ears, making him screw up his eyes as their Mech was flung across the city square where they'd ended up fighting, only stopping when they'd collided with the ground and skidded along some distance.

 'Fuck,' Daichi hissed, his knee stinging where he'd whacked it on the control panel. Their Mech was lying on its front again. He turned to Suga, who was as white as a sheet and trembling. 'Are you alright?'

 'Yeah, that was just...' He trailed off and focused on getting their Mech up. He pushed them up and tried to get them standing, but their Mech wobbled and fell into a weird sitting position.

 In the distance, they could see the Aoba Mech they'd attacked lying on the ground, unmoving, a big hole blasted through its centre. The second one had vanished. 

 'Takeda, can you locate the second Aoba Johsai Mech? We don't need a sneak attack,' Daichi said to the com. Suga tried once again to get their Mech standing but it fell down once more. 'I think our Mech is damaged, we can't get to stand up properly.'

 There was no reply.

 'Captain!' Daichi pressed the com button. It fizzled at him. 'Major? Anyone?'

 He started hitting the dashboard, but he couldn't get through to anyone. Their com system had completely failed.

 'The blast must have done some damage to our Mech's systems,' Suga sighed, trying the com as well. 'I think some of the bolts in one of our legs has come loose, which means it can't take the weight when we try to stand.'

 'What should we do?' Daichi said, shifting in his seat and wincing. The pain had spread down his leg, white-hot and causing tears to prickle in his eyes. 'I think my leg might be broken. Or I shattered my knee-cap.'

 'We need to get out of here. We'll have to retreat.' Suga said, pulling open a hatch above his head, which was full of wires. He tried fiddling with some of them, hoping to get the com system back online, but nothing happened. He grumbled and slammed it shut. 'We can't call for back up, so we're just going to have to fix the leg.'

 'How? We'd need Kiyoko.'

 'I can do it,' Suga was peering out of the window at their damage leg. 'I can see the problem. I'll be able to fix it in no time. It might not be stable for too long, but we should be able to make it back without a problem.'

 'Assuming we don't get attacked along the way.'

 'Don't be pessimistic.' Suga began undoing the latches that kept the top down. Daichi reached out and grabbed hold of his arm.

 'What are you doing?'

 'I'm going to fix the leg.'

 'You can't get out!'

 'How else did you think I would be able to fix it?'

 'It's dangerous!'

 'There's no one around. I think that Aoba Johsai Mech assumed we did a suicide attack with that missile and took off. It's fine, Daichi, I'll be out for a minute, two at the most. It's literally just two little bolts that needs screwing back in place.'

 Reluctantly, Daichi allowed Suga to open the top and climb out of the Mech. Daichi had never been outside the base with the top off the Mech before. He'd had the windows smash several times, no matter how 'shatterproof' they were supposed to be, but they had air conditioning in the Mech to keep them cool. The heat of the sun was almost unbearable to him, especially in such a tight-fitting jumpsuit. He could feel sweat running down his forehead already.

 He watched Suga as he gingerly climbed out of their Mech and jumped onto the ground. He took a few glances around to check the coast was clear before moving over to their damaged leg and knelt down next to it, examining it.

 When he tried to touch it, his hissed and withdrew his hand. Daichi sat up a little higher, worried. 'Are you alright?'

 'The metal is hot.' Suga said. Daichi tossed him a cloth they kept in the Mechs glove compartment, which was used for cleaning.

 Gun fire and explosions could be heard in the distance, but he couldn't tell if that was his team fighting or another. The area they were in looked deserted, there were cars scattered around them and buildings looming on either side. There were also several abandoned Mechs lying in the middle of the road, all belonging to Nekoma.

 'Do you think any of those Mechs work?' Daichi called to Suga, who looked over at them. He shrugged.

 'I don't know, but I think it'd be a stupid idea to try and get back to base in one of them. We'll be blown apart.'

 'True, true.' Daichi slumped down in his seat, both hands gripping at his thigh. The pain in his leg was starting make him feel dizzy. 'Are you almost done, Suga?'

 'Yeah, it's stiff! Hold on.' A few moments passed before Suga cheered in triumph as he screwed the bolt back in place. 'Done it! Ok, I'm coming back.'

 Daichi grinned, watching Suga stumble over broken bits of rock. Then he stopped and turned to look to his left, his face puzzled. A whistling noise had caught Daichi's attention too.

 That's when he realised what was coming.

'SUGA! GET BACK IN THE MECH!'

 He tried to jump up, but the seatbelt was holding him in place. He screamed for Suga again, who turned to look at him, terrified and rooted to the spot.

 And that was the last thing Daichi saw when the bomb hit somewhere near them. There was a blinding white light and his Mech was hurled somewhere, but everything soon faded to black and he knew little more.

***

 Everything hurt.

 It was all so bright and the ringing in his head wouldn't stop.

 When Daichi woke, his whole body felt stiff and bruised. He was lying in a comfortable white bed, lights overhead hurting his eyes. There were people gathered around him, but he couldn't hear what they were saying, it was all so muffled to him. He couldn't put a name to a face, even though he was sure he recognised the people at his bedside. He felt confused and unsure of what was happening.

 He tried to speak but nothing would come out. He tried to sit up but someone was pushing him down again.

 A flash of something silver, a small prick in his arm and the world went black again.

 The second time Daichi woke up, he could make sense of things.

 He knew straight away that he was lying in the Medical Ward back at the base, he was hooked up to a heart monitor that he knew should be beeping but he couldn't hear it, and he could see Asahi tending to someone else a few beds down from his.

 Daichi called out for him and Asahi looked up. He hurried over and was speaking rapidly, because his mouth was moving, but Daichi couldn't hear a word he was saying. It just sounded like a single noise to him.

 'I can't hear you! I can't hear!' Daichi began to panic, gripping at his bed sheets. He couldn't move his leg, which was held down and in a cast. His entire body was covered in bandages and ached.

 Without saying anything to Daichi, Asahi ran off somewhere and came back a few minutes later holding some weird plastic device, which he fitted into Daichi's ear very carefully. Suddenly, sound came back to him, even if it wasn't as clear as it used to be.

 'Can you hear me now?'

 'Y-yes, oh God, am I deaf?'

 'Uh, sort of, but it'll be alright as long as you are wearing the hearing aid.' Asahi wasn't looking at him, but at the heart monitor instead.

 'What happened? How did I end up here? I thought I died.'

 Asahi was on the verge of tears. 'Hinata and Kageyama came and rescued you. No one could get in contact with your Mech so they came looking...'

 'Where's Suga?' Asahi didn't say anything. He looked away. Daichi tried to sit up but his body wouldn't allow it. 'Asahi, where. Is. Suga?'

 His heart sunk as he watched as Asahi burst into tears, looking like an over-grown child. He buried his face in his hands. Daichi reached out and grabbed hold on his shirt, clenching his fist. 'TELL ME!'

 'Daichi, Daichi,' Ukai had come running over. He looked tired. There were large bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess. He grabbed Daichi's wrist and freed Asahi from his grip. 'Go, Asahi, take care of the others. Daichi, I need you to calm down and listen to me-'

  'TELL ME WHERE SUGA IS!'

  'He... We don't know.'

  Daichi's whole body felt limp. 'What do you mean?'

 'Do you remember what happened?'

 'We were hit by a bomb. It exploded.' Daichi screwed up his face, his memory was so foggy. The only thing that would come to mind was Suga's face, petrified. Tears leaked out from under his eyelids. 'He didn't make it, did he?'

 Ukai sat at the end of the bed and placed a hand on Daichi's leg. 'It's unlikely.'

 'Unlikely?'

 'We couldn't find a body. There are search teams out looking but that blast hit him straight on. His chances of survival are... well, not good.' Ukai was doing his best to keep his cool. 'Your Mech was completely destroyed. You were thrown out of it. Kageyama found you lying in the middle of the road. You've broken a few bones, ruptured your ear drums and got some serious burns, but you'll heal-'

 'You've got to find Suga. I've got to find Suga. I need to-' He tried to get up again and Ukai forced him back down.

 'Daichi! He's dead. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. But it's been a week and the search team hasn't found anything! They're still looking but we've got to accept that he's gone.' He was crying now, silent tears streaming down his face. 'Daichi, listen-'

 'Get out.'

 'Daichi-'

 'GET AWAY FROM ME.'

 Major Ukai sighed, wiped at his eyes and left Daichi alone. Several people in the hospital were staring at him, some nurses tutting. Daichi didn't care, he felt like a part of him was suddenly missing, like someone had ripped out his heart. He pulled the pillow from under his head, placed it over his face and screamed into it, sobbing so hard he was giving himself a headache. No one told him to be quiet.

 It had been all his fault. If he hadn't suggested doing that stupid move Kageyama had done, then their Mech wouldn't have gotten damaged and Suga wouldn't have needed to climb out to fix it. He couldn't get Suga's face out of his head and he couldn't help wishing that he had died in the explosion too.

 A whole week he'd been out cold. A whole week and they'd not been able to find a trace of Suga. Had that explosion completely... his thoughts trailed off, he didn't want to imagine Suga being ripped apart.

 Feeling like nothing even mattered anymore, his body too drained to do anything, Daichi spent what felt like hours lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind numb. 

 Hinata was the first of his team to come visit. He looked like he'd been crying, his eyes were red and puffy. He sniffed a couple of times and didn't approach Daichi. 'I'm glad you're ok.'

 'You found me, didn't you?'

 'Yes,' Hinata nodded. 'Me and Kageyama came looking when no one could reach you. W-we thought you were dead. It was horrible.'

 He let out a sob.

 'Did you see Suga?' Hinata's entire body stiffened. He didn't give an answer, he just shook his head. Daichi turned his attention back to the ceiling. 'You can go now.'

 'I- Uh- Don't you want to know what happened to everyone else?' When Daichi didn't say anything, Hinata gave another snotty sniff and wiped his eyes. 'Yamaguchi died.'

 This got Daichi's attention. He turned to look at Hinata, wide-eyed. He shook his head, a lump rising in his throat. 'No, no, we can't have lost two men, I don't believe you.'

 'I'm really sorry, Daichi,' Hinata wept, using his baggy white t-shirt to blow his nose on. 'There were so many of them, and we tried to protect Tsukishima's Mech but we failed. It was the worst thing I've ever seen.'

 'What happened to him?'

 'I-I- He-'

 'He was pulled from the Mech and they snapped his spine.' Kageyama had appeared at the end of the bed. His face was completely expressionless. 'They tried to do the same to Tsukishima, but we grabbed him in time and pulled him into our Mech. He's back in the base. He's locked himself away. He won't speak to anyone.'

 Daichi placed a hand over his face as he began to cry again. 'This is all my fault. I'm the worst Lieutenant.'

 'Shut up.' Kageyama snapped. 'I won't let you become like I did when I lost my partner. I won't let you sit there and blame yourself. You're the best Lieutenant any of us could ask for.'

 'Suga was my best friend,' Daichi sobbed. 'I lo-'

 'I know,' Kageyama cut him off. 'It's hard and I'm not saying that you can't sit there and cry about it and mourn, but do not blame yourself. Suga would not have wanted that. He would have told you exactly what I'm saying now. We're at war, Daichi, and it sucks, but we've got to always be prepared for the worst. The only thing you can do now is get out of that bed, get back in a Mech and destroy every last fucking Aoba Johsai Mech you see and end this war for Suga and Yamaguchi and any other Crow members that were lost.'

***

Two weeks passed before Daichi was fit enough to be excused from the Medical Ward. He had scars down his chest and right hip from where he had been burned, and he was walking on crutches because his leg was still in a cast, but he was getting tired of lying around all day and he wanted to go back to Area 12 and be with his friends.

 Everyone had visited him in the hospital wind, Tanaka and Noya had been weirdly quiet for once in their lives and just spoken kindly to Daichi, Hinata came everyday and told him about things that were going on around the base that were supposed to cheer him up, like that one woman's toddler had started learning to walk.

 He, of course, had always hoped Suga would be the one walking through the door, but he never did.

 And he never would again.

 On his way back to Area 12, he was stopped by General Ukai's secretary who told him the General wanted a word.

 He changed direction and followed her back to the General's office, which was located in the same room they kept all the fighter jets. One wall was completely made of glass, looking out at the jets, and it contained several filing cabinets, a thick wooden desk and a hardback chair for visitors. Daichi took a seat and waited for General Ukai to speak.

 'How's your hearing?'

 'Oh, Asahi told me it won't heal,' Daichi fiddled with the hearing aid in his right ear. He was used to wearing a com, so it didn't really bother him. 'I'll have to wear these for the rest of my life.'

 'I see. Anyway, down to business. I'm partnering you up with Kei Tsukishima. You'll be both assigned missions once your leg has healed properly.' He stated, not looking at Daichi. He was writing something. 'I'm appointing Yu Nishinoya as Second Lieutenant for the time being. I'll look over his and Ryuunosuke Tanaka's files later.'

 'Tsukishima won't partner up with me.'

 'He's going to have to.'

 'Did you find Suga's body?' Daichi blurted out. General Ukai put down his pen and observed Daichi with an unimpressed look.

 'We've stopped looking.'

 'What? But-'

 'Sawamura, it's been three weeks. There's nothing. If any of his body was left, we'd have found it by now. We've searched area and the surrounding areas where your battle took place and there is nothing, so drop it.' He snapped. 'We've cremated Tadashi Yamaguchi' remains, so we'll give you the ashes at some point.'

 Daichi  was shocked. 'You did what? We should have had a funeral-'

 'There's no time for that kind of nonsense, Lieutenant. We don't have time to waste for every single person that died. Do you think you're the only group who lost members? We've got to move on and continue fighting this war. You should be thankful that we retrieve the bodies and cremate them, to give our people a little honour in death, rather than just leaving them in the wastelands. If you want a funeral service, do it yourself.'

 'So, we have to go straight back onto the battlefield the moment I can walk?'

 'Yes.'

 'What about therapy?'

 'We don't have time for silly things like that.'

 Confused, Daichi folded his arms. 'You point blank refused to let any of my team out after we fought Aoba Johsai the first time, and none of us had died then! I had to spend about a month talking to psychiatrists when I really didn't need to. We've lost _two_ men, doesn't that concern you? I don't understand-'

 General Ukai raised a hand to silence him. 'That was back when we had the time to allow soldiers to take that sort of time off, but these attacks are getting more frequent, not to mention it wouldn't just be your team we'd need to give therapy. Everyone is in mourning. Don't act selfishly.'

 Sitting up straight in his chair, Daichi cleared his throat, trying to keep himself calm, and grabbed his crutches. 'Will that be all, Sir?'

 'Yes, thank you.'

 Without another word, Daichi got up and left and made his way back to Area 12, anger prickling at his thoughts. They'd never disrespected soldiers like that before, whenever they had lost a lot of people before, they always held big ceremonies for them, caskets lined up covered in flowers and notes of farewell and love. It was the least they deserved for putting their lives on the line.

 Area 12 was silent.

 Neither Takeda or Ukai were there. Tsukishima had locked himself away in the meeting room and no one tried to disturb him.

 Tanaka, Noya, Hinata and Kageyama were all sat playing cards in the centre of the room. The Mechs were all lined up neatly near the exit door. A new Mech was in place for him and Tsukishima.

 They all jumped to their feet as Daichi entered. He walked over to them, wobbling on his crutches. Tanaka hit him, quite gently, on the back as form of greeting. 'How're you doing, boss?'

 'I'm alright.' He lowered himself to the floor and they all followed suit. Kageyama offered him some cards to join them. Daichi sighed. 'They're pairing me and Tsukishima up.'

 'What? Seriously?'

 'Do you think he'll be willing to work with you?' Noya asked. Daichi shrugged.

 'That's assuming he'll be willing to even go back out on the battlefield.' Hinata added. Everyone stared at the floor, shoulders slumped.

 'I can't believe we went from once having ten Mechs to three. We're never going to be able to beat anyone. They keep getting more and more forces, we're going to lose.' Tanaka sighed. Kageyama hit him.

 'Don't say shit like that.'

 'He has a point.' Daichi shrugged. 'Don't be surprised if they end up splitting us up and putting us with other teams.'

 'No chance! I'm not leaving this team!' Noya and Tanaka both said. Daichi smiled weakly at them.

 'We'll hold a small ceremony when we get Yamaguchi's ashes back,' Daichi told them, explaining what the General had said about him being cremated and not having a funeral. They were all furious by the news and Daichi had to pull Tanaka back down by his shirt to stop him from going to try and beat up the General.

 'Should we tell Tsukishima?' Kageyama asked. Daichi looked over at the meeting room door and shook his head.

 'Eventually, but leave him be for now. He'll come out when he's ready. He needs time his alone time.' Daichi gathered up all the cards and began to shuffle them. 'I, on the other hand, need to feel as normal as possible so I want you to just treat me that way and let me whoop you all at poker.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) bye bye suga


	8. Chapter 8

 Fighting off three Aoba Johsai Mechs single-handedly had been difficult, but Hinata and Kageyama had managed it. Aoba Johsai had never had any experience with Hinata's 'Quick' and had no idea how to combat it, which meant the two of them could use it their advantage and take down their enemy.

 After that was done, they'd gone to help out Tsukishima, who was shouting for back-up over the com system and they'd reached him just in time to help smash down the Aoba Johsai Mech that had ripped him right out of the cockpit and was attempting to kill him. He'd joined them in their Mech, which was a tight fit and he was squashed in the middle of both of them, looking uncomfortable and complete devoid of emotion after what had just happened.

 Once all the enemy Mechs had been taken care of, Tanaka and Noya had set about gathering up Yamaguchi's broken body while Hinata and Kageyama went in search of Daichi and Suga, as they could not get in touch with them at all via the com system. They tried asking Captain Takeda, but he said it was likely Daichi's system had gone down but gave them coordinates of where Daichi's Mech had last been before something had cut the connection back to base.

 There were a lot of burning cars in the city square, and a flaming pile that had to Daichi and Suga's Mech, but there were no signs of any bodies inside, thank God.

 It was Kageyama who spotted Daichi lying further down the road, half of his suit burnt off, his skin blistery and red. They'd scooped him up in their Mech arms and carried him back to base, being careful to keep to the shadows of tall buildings so the sun wouldn't bake him. They couldn't fit him in the Mech with them, not with Tsukishima already being there. He had said nothing the entire trip back and as soon as they arrived in Area 12 again, he got out the Mech and went and sat with Yamaguchi's body, which he refused to let Asahi or any other Medical member take away.

 Eventually, one of them ended up injecting him, against his will, with a sedative and both of them were carried away on stretchers, as Tsukishima had injuries that needed to be tended to. Both Hinata and Kageyama were given a once over but told they were fine and any minor scrapes that had could be fixed up with the first aid kit available in the office.

 General Ukai made them report to his office later, asking Noya to explain the situation because he was the next in command as both Daichi and Suga were disposed. The General had promised them that he would see to it that a search party be sent out to look for Suga, who was the only man from their base who's body had not been recovered, but said they should accept their loses there and then and assume he would not be coming back.

 'If you expect the worse, you won't be disappointed.'

 Having to enter the cafeteria the day after the battle was a real smack in the face to them. The banners and balloons were still strung up on the wall. Nobody had bothered to take them down. Seeing them made everyone tear up, thinking about how just the other day they were all so happy and carefree and both Suga and Yamaguchi were there and they were safe and alive. Hinata thought of drunk Suga punching Asahi in the stomach and he half-laughed, half-cried and Kageyama got infuriated and began ripping stuff down and shoving it into bins.

 It had been tough on all of them. They'd all cried the moment they'd gotten space from each other. Tanaka had taken out his frustrations in Area 12 by throwing scrap bits of metal and gears around, Noya spent so long in the shower Hinata was worried he was trying to drown himself, and Kageyama kept to his bunk for a while, and when he did get up he wouldn't leave Hinata's side, no matter how much Hinata cried onto him. He felt like he was the only one who was openly expressing his feelings.

 Seeing Tsukishima in the state he was made Hinata's heart hurt. Despite the two of them not being that close, Hinata didn't dislike him and knew it must be awful to lose your best friend like that. To have to see it happen, as well. He wanted to go try and cheer him up, not that he knew how, or at least give some words of comfort, but Major Ukai said it was better to leave him alone. He would come to them if needed the support, but it was likely Tsukishima would want to get over this on his own.

 Asahi had joined them for dinner that night, red-eyed and very tired-looking, and told them that Daichi would be ok, physically, apart from some scarring from the burns he'd received and damage to his ear drums would leave him needing aids the rest of his life, but had no idea when he would wake up and what kind of mental state he would be in when he did.

 'He might have seen what happened to Suga,' Asahi had told them. 'It must have been an explosion that flung him out of the Mech, so it must have thrown Suga somewhere too. I'm sure they'll find him.'

 But as the week passed that Daichi was still out cold, and the rescue teams all came back empty handed, it was starting to look pretty unlikely Suga had made it. Hinata was honestly surprised they hadn't been able to find _anything_ of him, even left over blood splatters, and couldn't help but wonder if, just perhaps, Suga had managed to get up and wander off somewhere.

 Why wouldn't he head back to base, though? Hinata had to question his own theory. Suga wouldn't just go live in the wastelands, he'd make his way back to reunite with Daichi and the rest of the Karasuno team.

 For some unknown, deluded reason, Hinata ended up accepting the fantasy that Suga had just decided he'd had enough with fighting and gone off to live somewhere else, that he was safe and happy. The idea that Suga was dead was too much for him to bear. He couldn't even think about poor Yamaguchi, there was no way he could pretend that that wasn't real.

 He'd been leaving Tsukishima food. He'd locked himself in the meeting room and only ever come out to use the bathroom, which was usually when everyone else was sleeping. He barely touched what Hinata left.

 'He'll eat when he gets hungry enough.' Ukai reassured Hinata, who had shown him the remains of the meal he had left outside the door.

 The team was so relieved when they heard Daichi had woken up, but were utterly devastated to hear how'd he reacted to the news about Suga. Of course he would be upset, Hinata had said, he'd lost a best friend. It must be tearing him apart.

 Determined to make Daichi feel like he wasn't alone, and to try and take his mind off of Suga, Hinata had gone to see him each day with some new random fact or two about life in the base. Daichi never told him to shut up, but didn't seem particularly interested in any of this information either. Mostly he just stared at the ceiling, glassy-eyed.

 It was great when he'd returned to their Area, for a while. He'd tried his hardest to keep up a positive attitude and act like nothing was wrong, but there were times when he'd accidentally say Suga's name instead of someone else's, or turn to look to his right where he'd expect Suga to be, and his entire persona would shift and he would become just like Tsukishima and slink off somewhere to be alone.

 Getting much out of him proved to be difficult, he had his good days, which were the days when he'd join them for dinner and would make brief, very blunt, conversation, but mostly they didn't see much of him. Tsukishima made a few appearances, always emotionless, but he didn't talk much. He just sat with them sometimes. Hinata figured he probably needed the company now and again.

 A few days after Daichi had returned to them, General Ukai appeared in their base, holding a silver urn which he handed to Tsukishima (who'd only come out of the meeting room because the General had requested him to) and a rusted locket, which he gave to Daichi, who's eyes grew wide and he had to bite his bottom lip to stop it from trembling. When he spoke, it was barely a whisper, as though he was struggling to get the words out. 'You found Suga?'

 General Ukai sighed and placed a hand on Daichi's shoulder. 'More or less.'

 'What does that mean?' Kageyama demanded. Hinata was also confused.

 'It's probably best you don't know.'

 'Please tell me.' Daichi said, staring him straight in the eye with the locket clenched in his fist. 'I need to know.'

 The General closed his eyes for a moment. 'The reason we struggled to find him in the first place was because... there wasn't much left of him.'

 Daichi said nothing. Nobody moved. The silence was awful. General Ukai rubbed at his head. 'He must have been too close to the explosion, you were only saved because you were still inside your Mech. There were... pieces.'

 'That can't be true.' Hinata had his hands over his mouth. He was the first to cry. Daichi was trying to hold himself together.

 'I'm really sorry, soldiers. We tested what we found and confirmed it to be Koushi Sugawara. We found this locket, it belonged to him. I had it cleaned up for you. I thought you might like it to remember him by.' He turned to look at Tsukishima, who was staring down at the urn that was clutched to his chest. 'Tsukishima, you'll be partnered up with Daichi on your next mission. I suggest you all get back to training, I don't know how long I can allow you to have time off when the attacks are getting more frequent.'

 He turned and left without another word.

 'We should have a funeral service.' Noya wiped at his eyes.

 'I didn't know Suga had a locket.' Tanaka said, watching Daichi, who was staring at the spot where General Ukai had been stood. Daichi held it up, letting it twist in front of his face.

 'He was found with it,' Daichi said, his tone void of any emotion. 'It's a pocket watch, not a locket. He thought it had belonged to his father, or least he'd liked to imagine so, he always had it on him for good luck...'

 For a moment, as Daichi glared at the locket, Hinata thought he might throw it at the wall, but instead he lowered his hand and turned to the others. 'We'll hold a small service to them. Just so everyone can say goodbye.'

 They ended up placing the pocket watch and the urn on the table in the meeting room. It was trashed in here, paper was littering the floor and chairs had been flung around. Nobody said anything. Tsukishima acted like nothing was abnormal.

 A long silence followed while they all stood and looked at the two items on the table, the only things left of their team mates and friends. Everyone was crying, Hinata the only one making much noise about it.

 'I hate this war.' Hinata finally broke the ice. No one responded but Kageyama put a hand on Hinata's shoulder.

 'I'll get Aoba Johsai for this, I swear.' Noya said menacingly. Tanaka gave a great sniff.

 'Me too.'

 Although Hinata wanted to make some kind of speech about how great both Suga and Yamaguchi had been, he didn't. Everyone already knew this, everyone had known them much longer than he had and were probably thinking over everything they did and didn't say while the two of them were still alive. Hinata wished he had spoken to Yamaguchi more, he was friendly most of the time. Hinata thought he was actually a little shy.

 He was going to miss the way Suga could instantly cheer up a room, the way his smile would ease all doubt he was having and how supportive and caring he was for everyone. He had really looked after their little team.

 Ukai and Takeda turned up with drinks. He poured them all a glass of whiskey and they all toasted to Suga and Yamaguchi. 'They were great men and they deserved better. Today we honour them, brave heroes who died fighting in the name of the Crow's Allegiance, and only wish that they could have seen the future that they were fighting for. They will live with us forever and we ask they watch over us as we continue to fight in their name and the names of every man we have lost. To Sugawara and Yamaguchi.'

 Repeating back the last line, everyone took a drink. Hinata's throat burned but he did his best to swallow it and not make any kind of choking noises. He didn't want to ruin the moment. He did find that the alcohol warmed him a little, and he ended up downing the rest of it.

 The air in the base felt heavier than usual. No one quite knew what to do with themselves. He ended up just sitting at the edge of the room with Kageyama, staring at all the Mechs, a hollow feeling in his chest.

 Daichi, Tanaka and Noya all stayed in the meeting room with Ukai and kept drinking. Tsukishima left, clutching the urn, and disappeared into the dorm room.

 'Do you think we'll get new people?'

 'I don't know. Like Daichi said, it's more likely we'd get put into new teams, if they're going to split us up at all.' Kageyama replied, twisting his Mech key between his fingers. 'You know, if it were up to me, I'd just go and storm Aoba Johsai's base.'

 'Do you know where it is?'

 'I could figure it out.'

 Tanaka and Noya were the first to get back into their Mechs, a day after their funeral service. They said they wanted to keep up their training, they'd been slacking off for a while, and if the General made them go out on another mission anytime soon, they needed to be prepared.

 Both Daichi and Tsukishima did not go near a Mech, nor did they discuss anything about being partnered up. They continued to keep to themselves.

 Seeing Tanaka and Noya training made Kageyama jump to his feet and drag Hinata to a Mech, but it didn't go well for them. They tried battling against the other two, but Hinata kept fumbling and screwing things up and Kageyama was getting wound up really easily and snapping his words. He ended up leaning over and grabbing Hinata's controls, despite having his own, causing the two of them to squabble for control before a punch from Tanaka and Noya sent them crashing to the floor.

 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!' Kageyama yelled at him.

 'You're the one who grabbed my controls! This is your fault!'

 'You're the one who wasn't doing it properly! What's wrong with you?'

 'I don't know! I'm sorry! I just can't focus!' Hinata sobbed, allowing Kageyama to push their Mech upright. He buried his face in his knees. 'I'm worthless.'

 'What the fuck are you going on about?' He slapped Hinata around the back of the head. 'Why on Earth do you think that?'

 'Everyone's so miserable and I can't do anything about it. I just keep thinking about Yamaguchi and Suga and I keep getting scared.'

 'It's not your responsibility to make everyone happy. You're not going to make anyone happy because their friends are dead and nothing is going to change that. You can't do anything except let them mourn in their own way and be there if they need the support,' Kageyama snapped. 'You need to stop this snivelling because it's not helping anyone. Get back up. Fight. We're soldiers, that's what we do. I'm going to defeat all those bastards out there that want to tear us down and I'm going to see the new world as it builds up around me. And you're going to be there with me. Along with the rest of this godforsaken team.'

 'Kageyama, I-'

 'I don't want to hear it! I don't want your excuses or your whining. I can't handle it. I am trying to keep myself together, and focus on our job, because that's what we're here for. We're at war. People die. We've got to accept that. I need you to get your head together and fight at my side, because we're never going to get anywhere if you keep stopping every second to wipe your goddamn eyes.'

 'I'm scared you'll die!' Hinata didn't mean to shout this, it just slipped out. He also usually found himself shouting back whenever Kageyama yelled at him.

 This shut Kageyama up. He fell back in his seat, observing Hinata. He then let out a low chuckle and turned away from him. 'I won't die.'

 'I just keep picturing it as your funeral we're attending,' Hinata told him, still blubbing. 'I keep seeing you being ripped out of the Mech or shot or stabbed or something and I am so scared. I can't protect you.'

 Kageyama sighed before reaching over and wrapping his arms around Hinata's head, pulling him into his chest. Hinata stopped crying, a little surprised by Kageyama's reaction. 'I refuse to die. It's not going to happen.'

 'But I-'

 'No.' Kageyama pushed him back, hands on his shoulder and stared him straight in the eye. 'It's never going to happen. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you either. I vowed that I would never work with anyone again after my last partner died, but you didn't give me much choice in the matter and now we're stuck together and we're going to win this thing, together. Do you understand me?'

 Hinata smiled for the first time in what felt like years. 'Gotcha'.'

 

 Having everyone together at dinner time felt odd, it was usually so broken up. Asahi was sat next to Daichi, talking about how things were going in the Medical Ward, probably just to help him keep his mind on anything other than Suga.

 Tsukishima had left the urn in his bunk. He was sat pushing eggs around his plate, his eyes glazed over. His glasses were lopsided but he hadn't bothered to get them fixed.

 Nothing much was happening until the sirens started going off. These weren't like sirens Hinata had heard before, the ones that ordered soldiers to their Mechs. They sounded different and red lights were flashing.

 Immediately, the entire cafeteria was on its feet.

 'What's going on?' Hinata asked, following Daichi and the others out of the cafeteria and down a corridor or two. They ran into the room with all the fighter jets, stood on the balcony railings that ran across the top that led to General Ukai's office. Below, they could see people running around, shouting to each other, many holding weapons.

 Daichi ran down a spiral metal staircase and hurried over to where Major Ukai was stood, talking rapidly into a headset. He turned to look at Daichi and the others. 'There's an escaped hostage.'

 'What?'

 'We managed to kidnap one of the pilots from an Aoba Johsai Mech, we've been holding him captive, trying to get information, but he's broken out. Grab a taser from over there and help them search.' He pointed somewhere to his left. 'I've got to go talk to my old man, excuse me.'

 He ran off.

 'Let's do what Ukai said and get searching-' Tanaka began but he cut off and pointed down the room. There was a raggedy looking man with a mess of hair and a beard, crouching down behind a helicopter. He looked around and then tried running, but someone opened fired and he shrieked and ducked underneath a table.

 Tanaka ran over, hauled him out and slammed him over the table, which cracked under the weight.

 Falling to the floor, the man cried out as he hit his head, and then tried to scramble back to his feet, but Noya was there, kicking him in the side. He collapsed again, wheezing and crying.

 Grabbing him by the front of his shirt while Noya got his arms behind his back, Tanaka pulled him to his feet and slammed him into the wall, pressing his face into the concrete. Other soldiers were surrounding them, their weapons held up in front of them encase this man tried to make a dash for it.

 Without saying anything, Tsukishima turned and left.

 'Dirty bastard,' Tanaka hissed, baring his teeth. 'Try anything, I fucking dare you.'

 General Ukai came hurrying down the steps, followed by his grandson. He was looking quite informal in just a white shirt and black trousers. The guards parted out of the way for him and he stopped at Daichi's side, who was just stood silently, watching. He rubbed at his head. 'Good work, Tanaka. We'll take him from here.'

 As Tanaka tried to move away so the guards could move in, the man started shrieking loudly. Tanaka hit him against the wall again and he started babbling, spit running down his chin. He was staring straight at Hinata, his eyes wide and popping out of his head.

 'Take me back to Aoba Johsai,' he begged, his face crumpling. 'Take me back. Take me back. Please, take me back.'

 'Shut up!' Tanaka shouted.

 'Take me back! Take me back!' He wrenched free of Tanaka's grip, punched him in the stomach and moved forwards to grab Hinata, but Kageyama stepped in front and pushed him away. He fell on the floor, and all guns were aimed at his head. He was sobbing hysterically and began to rock back and forth. He looked back up at Hinata.

 ' The old crow are getting slow

 The young crow is not

Of what the young crow does not know

_The old crow knows a lot.'_

He began to repeat himself, over and over, staring straight at Hinata, who felt very uncomfortable. He looked around, bemused. 'What does that mean?'

'He's a babbling old fool!' Tanaka spat at him. He went to grab him but the man swiped at him. 'You bastard!'

 'Tanaka, back away. We'll handle this, guards, please get him to his feet.' General Ukai ordered.

 Two men moved forwards and hauled the prisoner to a standing position, but had to help keep him upright because this man wanted to just fall back onto the floor again. He started begging to be taken back to Aoba Johsai again, over and over, his eyes spinning his head. He looked deranged.

 He then froze and turned his attention to the General, who stood up a little straighter. He pointed a withered finger at him. 'The old Crow.'

 'Take him back to confinement, and bring me whoever is responsible for his escape-'

 A sharp bang made everyone jump and move back. The two guards holding the prisoner had stepped back in alarm and the prisoner had fallen to the floor, blood rapidly staining the grey oversized shirt he'd been wearing, spreading across his chest. He started wheezing, spitting blood, and clutched at the wound in his chest while his mad eyes found Hinata for the final time. He tried to point but his arm was shaking. He spat more blood as he spoke. 'The young Crow.'

 His arm went limp and his eyes faded out. He had died.

 Hinata whipped around and gasped.

 Daichi was holding a gun.

 He'd shot him.


	9. Chapter 9

 Everything had gone quiet.

 All of the people in the room were staring right at him, but Daichi didn't care. He didn't feel anything. He had no regrets about shooting and killing this disgusting man. He'd deserved it. If he'd been one of the pilots in the Aoba Johsai Mechs they'd last fought against, then he could have been the one who killed Suga.

 Even if he wasn't, he still worked for the enemy that had killed his friend.

 The moment the man had appeared, anger and hatred had bubbled up inside his chest and he'd not been sure what to do with it at first. He'd never felt this towards another person before, hatred wasn't something he had much knowledge of. Maybe having Suga around had always kept him calm.

 Knowing he'd more than likely get in trouble for it, he'd stolen the gun out of General Ukai's belt and held it behind his back for a moment, considering his options. The others weren't shooting this man, only threatening too, which meant they still needed him, and Daichi didn't want to ruin his team's chances of getting more information, but after the man had gone for Hinata, Daichi decided this man should die.

 He'd waited for the appropriate moment, when he knew he wouldn't hit anyone else, and he'd fired without even blinking.

 Major Ukai reached out and eased the gun from his grip. He let him. He let his arm fall.

 'Guards, take this body to be burnt,' General Ukai said after a moment of silence. They began to drag the body away. 'I want the Karasuno team to wait here. Sawamura, come with me.'

 Not looking at any of his team, Daichi followed the General back up the spiral staircase and along the balcony to his office. He closed the door behind them and the General pushed him into the wooden chair, before settling down behind his desk. He clasped his fingers together, surveying Daichi for a brief period of time.

 'Why did you shoot him?'

 'I was mad.'

 'He could have provided us with more information about the Aoba Johsai base, you understand the consequences of what you've just done, right?' General Ukai was oddly calm. Daichi actually found it really unnerving. He was expected to be shouted at. He nodded slowly. Ukai sighed and began shuffling papers on his desk. 'I don't like this new behaviour you've been portraying recently.' 

 'What?' Daichi said, bemused. He hadn't done anything apart from shoot the prisoner. He'd spent the last few weeks in his own Area with his team, trying to force himself to put Suga out of his mind. 'What have I done?'

 General Ukai held up a beige file that meant nothing to Daichi. 'Not attending Lieutenant meetings, I've had no paper work from you at all, and not keeping up with your Mech training with Tsukishima, not to mention that I didn't like your attitude towards me the last time we spoke and you've just killed my hostage, who I could have used as a bargaining tool to get some of our hostages back from Aoba Johsai. Did you ever stop to think that maybe they have some of our men?'

 He threw the file onto his desk and blew noisily out of his nose. Daichi clenched his fist, trying to keep his voice at a reasonable level. Trying to shout down the General would get him nowhere. His voice was shaky. 'My best friend _died_.'

 'I'm well aware of that, solider, but this is a war. There are going to be deaths. I'm not going to allow you and your team anymore time to slack off. You'll be assigned to the next mission that comes up, so I suggest you and Tsukishima get your act together.'

 'And if we don't?' Daichi didn't know why he'd said this, why he hadn't just nodded and agreed, but he was pissed off that General Ukai was being so cold hearted towards him and his team. Ukai sat up a little straight in his chair and smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. 

 'I recommend you follow orders, soldier.' He said almost threateningly, leaning forwards over his desk on his elbows. 'If you're going to start talking back to me, we're going to have problems.'

 'I'm sorry, Sir, I'm not intending to talk back to you, I'm just really struggling with the loss of my partner and I feel as though my team and I should-'

 'No,' Ukai stopped him. 'No more time off. It doesn't work like that. You can't take a two month vacation every time someone gets injured or hurt or dies. We are at _war_. This is serious. Does it mean nothing to you?'

 'Of course it does, Sir, I just don't know if I'm ready to-'

 'Then make  yourself ready. You don't get a choice in this, Lieutenant.' He said, knitting his hands together as he observe Daichi with a cold, unhappy stare. 'If you, or any member of your team, refuses to fight during your next assigned mission, there will be consequences. And I assure you right here and now, you will _not_ like them. Do I make myself clear?'

 This was the first time Daichi had actually felt terrified by the General's presence. He was a big bloke and looked intimidating, but Daichi had always known him to be reasonable and somewhat caring, in his own way. He always thought the General would be the one he could go to, if needed, if anything was wrong and his team needed help. Now he wasn't so sure. There was something funny about the way the General was acting towards him, but he couldn't figure out what and he definitely wasn't going to ask.

 'Yes, Sir, crystal.'

 General Ukai fell back into his seat. 'Good. Now, Daichi, before you go, I want to ask you something.'

 'What is it, Sir?' Daichi was itching to get out of there. He wanted to get back to his team and tell them what had just happened, and also explain his actions from earlier. He hoped they wouldn't be against him for killing that man.

 'Did you hear what that man was babbling?'

 'Yes, Sir. Something about the old crow knowing more than the young crow. I was confused by it.'

 'Did it mean anything to you?'

 Why is he asking me this? Daichi thought, puzzled. He hadn't even regarded anything the old man had been saying, he'd been too angry just having him there. He'd assumed the old man was off his rocker, but if the General was asking questions about it, surely he thought there was something funny about it.

 That man had pointed to the General and called him the 'old Crow' before then calling Hinata the 'young Crow.' The poem the man had spouted over and over had been about crows, but was he referring to the Crow's Allegiance?

 What was it again? He racked his brain, trying to remember. The gun shot was the freshest thing in his head.

 'The old crow are getting slow

 The young crow is not

Of what the young crow does not know

The old crow knows a lot _.'_

Daichi hadn't meant to repeat the poem out loud, he'd just ended up saying it as it came into his head. Ukai's eyes narrowed and Daichi realised he had made a mistake.

 'It sounds like a load of nonsense to me, Sir.' He lied, covering his own back. 'It doesn't make any sense.'

 'Are you sure?'

 'Yes, Sir, I had forgotten about it until you brought it up. It was just the babbling of an old, stupid man. I doubt I'll even remember it by tomorrow.'

 'What about your team? Will they think anything of it?'

 The more General Ukai was asking about this poem, that Daichi would have honestly never remembered if not questioned about it, the more Daichi began to grow suspicious. The General was hiding something, either about the Crow's Allegiance or the old man Daichi had just killed.

 Daichi let out a fake laugh. 'My team? They'll be too concerned about me shooting the prisoner to remember anything he said. I can assure you, they won't have remembered it. If they do ask about it, which is very unlikely, I will tell them it is utter nonsense and that the fool was mad.'

 'That's what I want to hear, Lieutenant. You may go.'

 Speeding out of the office as fast he could without looking fishy, Daichi signalled the others and hurriedly ran back to Area 12. He got them all gathered in the meeting room, where Tsukishima was sat looking at Yamaguchi's urn, and made sure Major Ukai and Captain Takeda were nowhere around. He wasn't sure whether he should trust the Major anymore, with him being the General's grandson, despite the many years that they had been close friends.

 Surely, Ukai would always pick family first.

 'What's going on Daichi? You look weird.'

 'I can't believe you shot that guy!'

 'He shot the prisoner?' Tsukishima asked. Noya nodded.

 'I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me,' Daichi explained. 'I just felt so angry, it was like he was the one who had killed Suga. I don't know if he did, but-'

 'There's no way he could have been out with the Aoba Johsai squad we fought against,' Kageyama cut across. 'Did you see the state of him? He looked malnourished and the way he was babbling, something must have sent him mad. That doesn't happen after a few weeks. He looks like he's been locked away for years.'

 'He could still belong to Aoba Johsai, though...' Tanaka said. Daichi frowned.

 'That is weird, though,' he said, taking a seat next to Kageyama. 'The General said he was planning on using this man for information about the enemy and maybe for a hostage negotiation, but assuming what Kageyama said is true, how could they get any new information out of a man they've had locked away for years?'

 'Even if he was from Aoba Johsai, they wouldn't have let him pilot a Mech in his condition. He looked about eighty. He was too old and frail.'

 'So, what are you saying, that they've been keeping this man for years and what, starving him?' Tanaka asked, leaning on the table. Kageyama pulled a face.

 'It looked to me like they've been torturing him.' 

 'What?' Hinata gasped. 'How can you tell?'

 'His arms and legs were covered in bruises, there are white faded scars all over him, like he'd been cut. If those are from torture marks, it must prove he's been here a hell of a long time because it takes a while for scars to fade like that. That would also explain why he was so crazy.'

 'That's horrible.' Hinata put his hands over his mouth. Daichi raised both of his.

 'Hold on, we can't start jumping to conclusions straight away and assume the Crow's torture their captives. He might have had those scars from years before he came here, and did the bruises to himself.'

 'What would it even mean if they were torturing people?' Noya asked. 'They're the enemy. What does it matter?'

 'Honestly, it just seems... odd.' Kageyama said slowly. 'They go on and on about wanting to help people, and instead of just altering the man's memories after they'd got information out of him and having him join our side, they keep him locked up? Why would they do that?'

 'Maybe he's killed loads of our men and this is his punishment.' Noya shrugged. 'Maybe they didn't want him around, maybe having to look at him every day would be too difficult to other teams who had lost members by his hand. I think we're looking far too deeply into this. He was just some nut job who was locked up for crimes against humanity and escaped and got himself killed, which he deserved.'

 'To be honest, it's not the man I'm concerned about. It's what he said.' Daichi repeated to them everything that had happened in General Ukai's office and how funny he'd been about the whole situation. Hinata waved his hand in the air to get everyone's attention on him.

 'He called me the young Crow. What does that mean? Do you think he knew me?'

 'I doubt it. It could be just because you were the youngest one there.'

 'Repeat the poem again.' Tsukishima told Daichi. He grabbed a pen and paper to write it down.

 'The old crow are getting slow

 The young crow is not

Of what the young crow does not know

The old crow knows a lot _.'_

Tanaka slapped his hand on the table. 'Means fuck all to me.'

'WHAT IF!' Noya stood on his chair. Daichi sighed. He knew straight away Noya wasn't going to take this seriously. 'We're the Crows and it's the Illuminati.'

 'What the fuck are you going on about, Noya?' Kageyama glared at him. He turned to Daichi. 'I don't know what you think it means, Daichi, but I can't really make head or tail of it. It sounds like he was just crazy to me.'

 'But he called me the young Crow! And the General the old one.' Hinata grabbed the paper off of Tsukshima and jabbed at it. 'The young crow is not slow - could he know about my quick.'

 'If we're assuming he's been locked in prison for some time, it's highly unlikely.' Kageyama pointed out. Hinata pouted and peered at the poem again.

 'What don't I know?'

 'A lot.' Tsukishima said.

 'I don't think it's a poem specifically about you.' Noya said, snatching it out of Hinata's hands. He held it up and then looked over at Daichi. 'I think you're over thinking this, Daichi. It means nothing.'

 'But the General was so funny about it-'

 'Why did the old man point at me?!' Hinata was getting panicky. Kageyama told him to calm down.

 'Honestly, do you know what I think,' Kageyama stood up, took the piece of paper and crumpled it up. 'I think the General is worried because it sounds like the old man said this weird poem on purpose to make us question the higher ups, he's probably trying to get us to rebel. We don't have time to waste of this kind of thing, Hinata come on, let's get back to training.'

 'Do you think I should find out what I don't know?' Hinata asked Kageyama as the two of them left the meeting room. Kageyama smacked him around the head and told him if he mentioned the stupid poem again he'd smother him in his sleep.

 Noya and Tanaka shrugged at Daichi and followed the other two out of the room. Daichi sighed and slumped down in his chair, looking at Tsukishima, who was staring at the urn again. 'There's definitely something weird about it, I just wish I understood what.' 

 'I think he's trying to say the higher ups are hiding something.' Tsukishima said. 'But I imagine there's probably a lot they keep from us.'

 'Do you think they could be hiding something serious?'

 'I don't know. Could be. Unless you want to start snooping around and looking into it,

 I'd drop the issue, if I were you.' Tsukishima sighed. 'You'll only get yourself in even more trouble if you do. You're already on thin ice with them.'

 'He said we have to start training together immediately.' Tsukishima said nothing. He just sighed again. Daichi ran his hands through his hair. 'How are you doing?'

 'As much as I appreciate your concern, Daichi, I have no interest in talking about how I am doing. I'm sure you understand exactly how I feel. You don't need to ask.' He pushed himself to his feet and picked up the urn. He held it up. 'It should have been me in this stupid thing, not him.'

 'Yeah, I feel the same way.' Daichi dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out the watch. He turned it over in his hands. 'I miss him.'

 'What happens if we just refuse to go in a Mech again?' Tsukishima asked. 'I get the feeling they're going to be willing to let us join Asahi in the Medical Ward.'

 Daichi shook his head and placed the watch on the table in front of him. 'He threatened me. I don't know exactly what he would do, but I don't want to risk it to find out. Just come and get me whenever you want to start training together.'

 'I'm going to shower and then we can.' He let out a long sigh and put the urn back down. He looked at it sadly. 'I should stop carrying this around.'

'You don't have to move on just yet.'

 'I'm aware, but I've got to start somewhere.' He began to walk towards the door. 'I should tell you, I have a methodical way of piloting a Mech and if I don't do it my way, I don't do it at all.'

 'That's fine,' Daichi closed his eyes. He was felt exhausted all the time. All he wanted to do these days were sleep. It was his only escape from this life. 'We'll do it your way.'

 


	10. Chapter 10

 Everything was pissing him off lately.

 Daichi and Tsukishima, despite having gotten into a Mech together, were still both completely miserable and didn't seem into it anymore. Noya and Tanaka were both being extra loud and annoying because the silence in Area 12 made them uncomfortable and unhappy, so they figured if they could cause enough distraction, maybe everyone would focus on them for a while. As for Hinata, it'd taken what had felt like a decade to get him to shut up about the stupid young crow thing and actually focus on what he was doing.

 Kageyama knew he shouldn't be angry at his team mates, they were still in mourning and having nothing to do most days meant they could only sit and be with their thoughts. The General hadn't assigned them any tasks yet, despite threatening to do so.

 That was probably what was frustrating him most, being stuck inside. They kept having such long periods between each battle, and it wasn't good enough for him. He knew they couldn't just go storming enemy territory, because it was too risky, and they had to wait for the enemy to come to them, but he wasn't a patient person. Waiting around wasn't his thing and he was even more willing to go out and fight for the sake of the two people who had died.

 He wanted vengeance. He wanted to prove to his team that he was good enough to protect them, that they could always count on him, and he wanted this stupid bloody war to be over and done with so he wouldn't ever have to step in a Mech again.

 Of course, this was the only purpose he'd ever known, so whenever the war did end, he'd have no idea what to do with himself. He didn't really have any hobbies. If he wasn't fighting or training in a Mech, he was sleeping or playing cards or doing tasks around the base. Lately, he and Hinata had been tossing a ball back and forth to each other, which he found quite calming.

 And, although he didn't want to be split from his team, he was mad that no one had moved them to new areas. Having just three Mechs seemed so pointless. Safety came in numbers.

 Not that he didn't think he and Hinata weren't skilled enough, but even Kageyama wasn't so stubborn to think he could take on more than maybe three Mechs alone. Even facing three was difficult, he and Hinata had speed as  their advantage but now that the enemy all knew what they could do, there was only a matter of time before they had improved their Mechs to match up.

 They'd all had to stand to attention when General Ukai had paid them a visit a week later. It was odd, Kageyama thought, the General never usually expected  them to be this formal.

 Although he still thought that poem the mad old loon was babbling was utter nonsense, Kageyama suspected Daichi's suspicions about the General being funny with their team to be true. He was a serious man, normally, but never like this. He never made them line up and stand up straight, he had never questioned their alliance to him before either.

 He demanded that each person vow to him to fight to the best of their ability for the Crow's and never betray them.

 After he had left, everyone slumped over, rubbing at their backs which had started to hurt, and peered around at each other, confused. 'What the fuck was that all about?' Tanaka asked, stretching his arms over his head. 'What's gotten in to him? It's like he doesn't trust us anymore.'

 'We haven't done anything.' Hinata chewed his lip. 'Have we?'

 'I wouldn't worry about it,' Major Ukai appeared in the doorway. He was holding a stack of files. The old coot is just on edge recently, the attacks seem to be multiplying. It's hard to get people willing to go back out after the sheer number we lost last time. He wants to know everyone is behind him a hundred percent and won't back out at the last minute.'

 'Like fuck we would!' Tanaka huffed, shoving his hands into his pockets. 'I'm gonna destroy every last one of the sorry losers.'

 'What's with the files?' Daichi asked. Ukai shuffled them around his hands so he didn't drop any.

 'Paperwork I've got to fill out. They're appointing Tsukishima as Second Lieutenant.'

 'WHAT?!' Noya cried, climbing onto Tanaka's back to get a better view. 'He's not even a Lance Corporal yet! He can't just miss a turn! I'm the Second Lieutenant!'

 'I'm sorry, Noya, can't do anything about it. Take it up with him if it bothers you but he'll only shout at you.' He dropped the files on the table where Suga usually sat. Nobody had touched it since. Daichi had hung the pocket watch over the back of the chair. 'The old man looked over your files and thought Tsukishima was more suited to the position, I wouldn't take it too personally, I imagine he probably did it because he felt Tsukishima needed more of a moral boost than you do.'

 'Wow, suddenly I feel so much happier.' Tsukishima sighed. He and Daichi had started spending most of their time together. It was easier for them to be together when they wanted some company because neither of them would tip-toe around the other. They were both suffering the same grief. 'You can give the position to Nishinoya, I don't care.'

 'I told you, I don't get a choice.'

  'Whatever,' Noya grumbled, sliding down onto the floor and folding his arms. 'I'm not bothered anyway.'

 'It doesn't change anything, really.' Daichi said, picking up the files Ukai had dropped and moving them into the meeting room. Kageyama couldn't help but wonder if Daichi would ever let anyone use that table again or if it would slowly just turn into a shrine for Suga.

 'If Daichi goes next, I'm not looking after this lot.' Tsukishima told Ukai with a completely straight face. 'I'll go down with him.'

 'Don't speak like that, Spec-Tsukishima.' Tanaka corrected himself. He'd stopped insulting Tsukishima these days and rarely got riled up by anything he said. At least, if he did, he controlled himself better.

 'You might actually become the Ace of the team, Hinata,' Tsukishima smirked at him. 'When you're the only one left.'

 'Kageyama won't leave me.' Hinata puffed out his cheeks, doing his best to look annoyed, but he was far too little and baby-faced for anyone to take it seriously. Kageyama tried to suppress a small smile.

 'I'm not dying any time soon.' Kageyama said firmly, and Tsukishima shrugged and turned away from him. Kageyama glared at the back of his head. He sighed and turned back to his partner. 'Come on, Hinata, we've got training to do.'

 'Yeah!' Hinata jumped in the air in his excitement and then scampered back over to their Mech, which they'd abandoned when General Ukai had come in and ordered them down. He didn't need Kageyama's help to get in anymore, he sort of vaulted himself from the floor and crashed inside. Kageyama had warned him if he ever did it when he was in the Mech, he would kill him.

 Despite worrying that Hinata might break something during these jumps, he only really let him do it because he found it amusing. Every time Hinata jumped into the cockpit, he would always hurt himself in some way. Nothing serious, he just usually banged his arms or legs or his head.

 This time he'd hit his funny bone and was seething.

 Shaking his head, Kageyama climbed into the Mech behind him and waited for Hinata to stop complaining about his arm hurting before he closed the top and strapped himself in. Noya and Tanaka waved at them from their own Mech and lifted the arms, wanting to battle.

 The both of them had just squared up, ready to fight, when the alarms starting sounding.

 'Are you serious?' Hinata gasped, looking around. Kageyama frowned and peered down at the ground. He saw Ukai running over to where Daichi and Tsukishima were stood. He couldn't hear what was being said but he felt like Ukai was probably asking those two whether they'd be able to get in a Mech or not.

 Hinata was opening the top. Kageyama allowed him to.

 They both leaned out.

 'What's happening? Who's attacking?'

 'Both!' Ukai shouted over the noise. 'Nekoma and Aoba Johsai have joined together! ALL forces are being ordered to leave, right now. We have to protect the base at all costs. Daichi, Tsukishima, please, get in your Mech, the team needs you to guide them. I'll be in the control room.'

 He turned on his heel and hurried off. Takeda appeared, looking a little dishevelled, like he'd just been woken up. He slapped Daichi on the arm and gave some words of encouragement that Kageyama couldn't hear, before going to join Ukai.

 'Are you two going to be alright?' Noya was asking. He and Tanaka had opened up their Mech too.

 Both Daichi and Tsukishima had been frozen for a moment, the sound of the alarm had made them both jump, and eventually, very slowly, they moved towards their Mech together and climbed in. Kageyama couldn't gage their reaction to the situation, they weren't showing much emotion, but both their eyes looked dark.

 However, neither of them reached up to pull the top down. They didn't strap themselves in. They didn't move at all.

 'Guys! What are you doing!' Tanaka shouted. Daichi didn't look at him. Tsukishima lowered his head.

 'You don't have to go if you don't want to!' Hinata called, covering his ears. He had told Kageyama several times how much he hated the sound of that alarm. Kageyama had gotten used to it.

 'Daichi! You need to lead them! Head East!' Ukai popped his head around the control room door. 'Daichi! Are you listening to me?'

 Kageyama could see Daichi's hands shaking. He was scared.

 'I don't think they should go out.' He called to Ukai, who looked a little defeated. He held up his hands in a gesture that Kageyama took to mean 'I-don't-know-what-to-do' before he disappeared again.

 That's when Noya slapped the dashboard of his cockpit. 'I'll lead us!'

 'What?' Tanaka twisted his neck to look at his partner.

 'If both Daichi and Tsukishima are unable to lead, then it falls  to the oldest Lance Corporal,' he moved the Mech controls and marched over so he was close to Daichi. 'If you don't want to follow us, then don't, no one here is going to rat you out. I'll make sure Takeda and Ukai keep their mouths shut, but this is your chance to get out of this place and get your thoughts away from everything that has been dragging you down into the dirt. You can take out your frustrations on the enemy, who are attacking, right now!'

 'Noya, lead the way.' Kageyama said and reached up to close the top. 'Hinata, follow them. It looks like it's going to just be the two of us. It'll be best if we find another Karasuno group to join up with.'

 'Aren't Daichi and Tsukishima going to follow us?'

 'I couldn't say, they look like they're having doubts,' Kageyama said, holding onto the sides as Hinata began to move the Mech, although very shakily. He reached over and put his hand over one of Hinata's. 'Stop it. You're making the Mech wobble.'

 'Sorry, I'm just nervous. I don't like how little of us there are, and not having Daichi as our leader...'

 'Quit it. You're fine with me.' Kageyama said sternly and removed his hand. Hinata had stopped shaking.

 'Guys, I want you to keep in contact with me and Ryuu as much as possible,' Noya came through the com. Kageyama hit the button so they could reply, but waited for Noya to stop speaking first. 'I don't know if Daichi and Tsukishima are going to be willing to follow us, so we're going to need to be careful if it's just the two of us. Join other Crow Mechs if you see any, although Takeda said he's going to make us go around the edge of the main battle so we're not ambushed, so I think it'd be better if  we can try and get some enemy Mechs on their own and fight one-on-one away from the main crowd.'

 That was actually a really good plan, Kageyama couldn't help but notice. Despite finding Noya absolutely unbearable when he was acting like his usual stupid, over-the-top self, Kageyama couldn't deny that when put to the test, Noya was clever and would definitely make a good Second Lieutenant. It was probably Tsukishima's no-nonsense attitude that had landed him the poisition instead, since every time the General had seen Noya, he was doing something ridiculous, usually with Tanaka by his side, like making a blanket fort in the dormitory with everyone else's bedding and refusing to give it up when people actually wanted to sleep.

 'We'll be right behind you.' Kageyama replied, controlling the Mech himself because Hinata was too fidgety.

 As they passed by Daichi and Tsukishima, Hinata gave them a little wave, which they didn't respond to. Neither of them were talking to each other, just sat as still as possible, staring at the controls in front of them. Kageyama sighed and pushed on forwards, falling in close behind Noya and Tanaka, who led them out of the base and back into the wastelands of the city.

 'You know, I've been thinking...' Hinata began and Kageyama closed his eyes, sighing.

 'Do you have to tell me right now?'

 'What does our base look like from above? I wonder how big it is. Do they ever actually take those helicopters and jets and stuff out of the base, because I don't think I've actually seen them move, you know.'

 'I don't know, Hinata, I don't pay attention to stuff like that. It's not my job.' He said, not even trying to hide how irritated he was by Hinata's annoying questions. Noya's Mech signalled for them to turn to their right and down a side street.

 'I think I figure out what that poem means.'

 Kageyama had to stop himself from hitting his partner. 'If you say one more thing about that fucking poem I swear I'm going to hurl you straight out of this Mech.'

 'But I-'

 'No! Be quiet!' Kageyama snapped. He was so tired of hearing about the poem. Hinata was looking far too deeply into it than intended. They had bigger things to worry about, like the fact both Nekoma and Aoba Johsai were attacking them. 'Just focus on what we're doing!'

 Hinata grumbled and stuck out his tongue. If they weren't in the middle of a situation, Kageyama would like nothing better than to kick him right about now. 'You're so grumpy.'

 'If you keep talking I'm going to hit you.'

 'What?! I'm not even allowed to talk now?'

 'No.'

 'Can I at least move the Mech?'

 'No.'

 It took a while before either of their Mechs came anywhere close to an enemy one. Noya had lead them on some kind of zig-zag maze through the city, taking tiny little alleyways the Mechs barely fit through and stopping occasionally to stomp on a car or two. Kageyama was getting really irritated by it, especially because Hinata was getting bored and restless beside him and despite Kageyama telling him several times to shut up, he wouldn't close his mouth. He wasn't talking about the poem, at least, but he kept blabbing about really irrelevant stuff that Kageyama didn't care one bit and kept punching him in the arm when Hinata thought he wasn't paying attention.

 'Noya! Will you stop pratting around!' Kageyama shouted through the com eventually, after the Mech in front had stopped next to a shop that was a faded, dirty pink and read XXX on the door. 'This is serious! Just because Daichi isn't here doesn't mean you can slack off!'

 'We're going! We're going! Jeez.'

 'Idiots!' Kageyama hissed once he'd let go of the com button. Hinata was now piloting the Mech, jogging after the other two at a reasonable pace now that they'd finally started moving again. 'I feel like we've been in this Mech for hours.'

 'We've never been this far out before,' Hinata said excitedly. 'I don't think it's been that long though, maybe an hour.'

 'Are we even close to anything yet?' Kageyama hit the com again. Tanaka made an 'ehh' noise. 'I'm going to punch you in a minute.'

 'We've got to get round them,' Tanaka huffed. 'I swear they've sent every man they've got out today- there's a lot, just put it that way. Takeda is guiding us, so don't blame me!'

 'We'd probably be there a lot faster if you two stopping fucking about.'

 Noya blew a raspberry and cut the communication. Kageyama felt a vein in his forehead throb. He was going to murder them.

 The first Mech they came in contact with was a Nekoma one. It just appeared from a side street, probably heading towards the bigger battle that was happening somewhere in the centre of the city (Kageyama heard a few explosions go off, but they were too far away for much noise to reach them) and it tried to flee at the sight of the two Crow Mechs, but they both ran at it, getting on either side and slamming it, face-first, to the ground.

 Kageyama flipped it onto its back while Noya and Tanaka stomped on the windows until they shattered, before firing a round of bullets at the pilots inside. Hinata had his eyes shut. Kageyama rolled his but didn't tell Hinata to open them until they've left the Nekoma Mech lying in the dust and had started to move away again.

 Several enemy Mechs appeared about five minutes later. They must have picked up the Crow Mechs on their radars now that they were getting closer to the main battle. There were three Aoba Johsai Mechs and two Nekoma ones.

 'We'll take the three Aoba ones,' Noya told them. Kageyama frowned.

 'Can you take on three?'

 'Leave it to us.' He cut coms again. Kageyama huffed but moved their Mech to attract the attention of the two Nekoma ones and made Hinata run somewhere out of the way so they'd follow.

 It was more than likely that Noya and Tanaka wanted to fight the Aoba Johsai Mechs because of what they had done to Suga and Yamaguchi. They were both so hot-headed, and Kageyama hoped they wouldn't make any rash decisions. If they used their anger correctly, they could easily destroy the three Mechs they were fighting, but they needed to keep control of it and not let it get the better of them, because going in with just the intention to kill would get them nowhere. It was important to constantly think about the consequences of your actions wo and what your next move is going to be.

 They spun their Mech around just in time to block an attack from one of the Nekoma Mechs. The second one came in for a punch but Hinata moved them backwards, so the swipe missed them.

 Hinata left most of the blocking to Kageyama, as he had never really quite mastered it in the same way, even though Kageyama wasn't as good as a blocker as he was at attacking. Some of the hits kept getting through, which was causing some damage to their Mech, but not enough to stop them. 

 Using Hinata's 'Quick' was the best option, as there was just no way the others could keep up. Getting Hinata to take full control of their movements, Kageyama instructed him where to go and when to move, twist or duck so he could send attack after attack at the Nekoma Mechs.

 One of them went down. It was pretty straightforward, once they'd done enough damage to the legs so that it couldn't balance anymore. However, they didn't have time to make any final, fatal blows because the second one was there, waiting for them.

 This one was going to be tricky, Kageyama could tell. Whoever was piloting this Mech was clever. He could see it in the way they defended themselves, they way they moved and how they attacked. They were very similar to himself, stopping occasionally at a distance, looking for a vantage point.

 Perhaps the pilot of that Mech had figured this out too. They were already being very wary about Hinata's quick speed, but the way they blocked every single one of Kageyama's attacks told him that the people inside could predict his movements. He needed to catch them off guard if he wanted to win.

 How could he change his style of attack that was suitable to bring them down? He thought for a split second about letting Hinata attack, he had been practising a lot and wasn't too bad at it, but it felt too risky. Hinata was better at following orders and even if Kageyama told him where to hit, he'd probably fumble around too much.

 Weak points were what he needed to look for, but this Mech didn't look like it had any. No loose bolts, nothing looked broken, the window was intact. He couldn't see any of the normal methods they used bring this Mech down to the ground, every attack he'd thrown so far they'd managed to block whilst balancing their weight perfectly.

 Suddenly, they moved. They headed left, coming straight at them, and Kageyama told Hinata to go to the right to dodge, but then, quicker than he'd seen an enemy Mech move, the Nekoma Mech changed direction and headed right too, coming directly in front of them and using as much force as possible to hurl them backwards.

 Hinata couldn't keep them balanced. He'd been mid-movement when the hit had collided with them and they fell, one of Kageyama's ribs cracking from the impact against the floor. Howling in pain, he tried to tell Hinata to get them up again, but a metal foot was being sent through their window.

 It only took one stamp to break straight through.

 Both Kageyama and Hinata moved to either side, avoiding the foot that could have easily squished their heads. They withdrew and instead of doing the same attack again, a hand appeared through the window, the metal fingers held upwards, and the claw-like fingers grabbed hold of their Mech and pulled up.

 The scraping sound that followed made Kageyama's teeth clench together. He tried to get their Mech up, but the Nekoma one forced them down again and pain shot through his side, making his hands go to his chest. He was scared his broken rib could puncture his lung.

 Hinata was trying now, hitting at the enemy, but it wasn't doing anything. He went to do a 'Quick' to try and get them up and moving, but the Nekoma Mech suddenly plunged its hand into the centre of their Mech, the claws cutting through the metal surface like it was paper, and they reached inside and pulled out a handful of wiring.

 In an instant, the control panel died. The lights all went out, including the orange ones that ran up the outside metal, and the Mech fell flat on its back, completely still and broken.

 'NO!' Kageyama screamed, trying to move over to Hinata, but it hurt too much. He could only watch as the Nekoma Mech continued to push up on the roof of their Mech, slowly pulling back the metal and exposing them.

 With the sun reflecting off the Nekoma's metal, Kageyama could barely see. He shielded his eyes with one free hand while the other was still placed on his ribcage.

 Panic was starting to set in. He didn't know what to do. Their Mech was completely broken and there was no way to get in contact with Noya and Tanaka, who might not even be able to help anyway, if they were still busy battling the three Aoba Johsai Mechs.

 Hinata was screaming at him, but he couldn't hear what was being said. It was all just noise to him now.

 They'd lost.

 It was only when Hinata started shaking him that Kageyama came back to his senses and slapped him away, hissing. They had literal seconds before the Nekoma Mech decided they'd torn enough of the roof off to then shoot the pilots inside. He turned to Hinata, grabbing his face. 'You need to get out. Right now.'

 'What?!'

 'They're going to kill us, Hinata. Climb out while they can't grab you and run down the nearest side street and hide somewhere. Keep hidden until you know all the Mechs have gone and try and head back to base. They'll probably send out a search party to look for you-'

 'I'm not leaving you!' Hinata snapped. 'Don't you even dare suggest it!'

 'HINATA I'M NOT ASKING YOU, THIS IS AN ORDER.'

 'I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!' Hinata repeated, crying. He unstrapped his seatbelt and slid over to Kageyama, putting his arms around his neck and pressing his face into his neck. 'I will not attend your funeral. I will not watch you die. I'm going with you.'

 'HINATA, PLEASE-'

 'NO! IT'S NOT HAPPENING!'

 They both froze. The Nekoma Mech had stopped moving and had withdrawn its hand. They both turned to look, fear running through them, at the giant machine that stood deadly still. Kageyama held his breath, waiting for them to raise their arms and shoot, his arms instinctively wrapping around Hinata, who had pressed his face into Kageyama's chest. It hurt him, but he didn't tell Hinata to move. He didn't care anymore.

 No shots were fired.

 It was almost as if the Nekoma Mech was watching them.

 'DO IT!' Kageyama screamed, unable to stop himself from crying. 'WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?'

 A hand began to move towards them.

 This was it.

 Without really having to think about it, Kageyama grabbed Hinata's head and brought it up so they were nose-to-nose and he kissed him.

 The kiss didn't last very long, because Hinata was wrenched away from him.

 Nekoma had grabbed Hinata around the waist and were lifting him from the broken Mech. Hinata had his arms around Kageyama and was trying to hang on but he was slipping. Kageyama grabbed at his wrists, pulling, but he couldn't fight against the machine. They hit Kageyama with their free hand, breaking his nose, and lifted Hinata into the air.

 Blood pouring down his face, Kageyama tried unbuckling himself and getting up, but another whack sent him back down again and winded him.

 He could barely breathe.

 'Please, no...' Kageyama sobbed, tasting coppery blood in his mouth. 'Please...'

 They were going to kill Hinata. The way they were holding him, it looked like they were going to crush him in their grip. Kageyama couldn't bear to watch. He screwed up his face and pressed his head into the seat.

 He'd failed. He'd promised he'd protect Hinata and he had failed. He was useless. It should be him out there, facing death, not Hinata.

 'KAGEYAMA! DON'T LET THEM TAKE ME! PLEASE!'

 He opened his eyes and looked up. The Nekoma Mech was walking away, with Hinata firmly held out in front of them. He was screaming for Kageyama, kicking his little legs. Kageyama sat up, confused.

 Why hadn't they killed him or Hinata?

 Climbing out the Mech whilst holding his side, Kageyama jumped to the ground and tried running after the Nekoma Mech, but there was no way he could keep up and soon they had vanished from sight.

 He stopped running, staring around him, the heat of the sun hot on his back and the blood on his face starting to feel sticky.

 Not knowing what else to do, Kageyama sank to his knees and screamed as loud as he could, ignoring how much it hurt him. He let his body collapse to the floor and he lay there, feeling all desire to ever get back up again leave him. He felt utterly defeated.

 When the stomping came, he didn't care. He didn't care if the enemy killed him.

 But it wasn't the enemy.

 Noya and Tanaka were calling his name. He rolled over to look at them. They were leaning out of their broken cockpit window, a little bloody but not seriously injured.

 The top came up and both jumped out, running over to him.

 'What the hell happened?! Jesus, you're hurt bad!' Tanaka said, hoisting Kageyama over his shoulder without even asking. 'We've got to get you back, we're retreating, we can't take on this many by ourselves. Where's Hinata?'

 'They took him...' Kageyama mumbled.

 'Who? Nekoma? What!'

 'We need to get him back...'

 Both of the boys hoisted Kageyama into their Mech carefully and pulled the top back down. It was cooler in here. He was squashed in the middle of them, his head lolling on his shoulder. They were both staring at him. 'What the hell happened?'

 Kageyama pointed to where their Mech now lay. The boys stomped over to look at it. 'Fuck,' Tanaka whispered under his breath, before scratching his head. 'Since when has Nekoma been this good? And just one? Fuck.'

 'So, they just took Hinata?'

 'They grabbed him and I thought they were going to kill him but they just walked off and left me.'

 'Could be a hostage thing.'

 'We've got to get him back!' Kageyama shouted. Both Tanaka and Noya looked at each other for a moment. Tanaka sighed.

 'We can't go storming the Nekoma base, Kags. It'd be a suicide mission. If they've taken Hianta as a hostage, they might want to bargain for someone we've got. There's still hope we can get him back.'

 'WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE HIM!'

 'We'll get him back, I promise, but we've got to retreat. There are hundreds of enemy Mechs leading up to the Nekoma base, we couldn't even think about getting close. Please, Kageyama, be reasonable.' Noya begged. Kageyama opened his mouth to argue but shut it again. He wiped at his bloody nose and shut his eyes.

 'Just go.'

 'Kags-'

 'GO BACK TO BASE ALREADY!' He snapped. 'I'm going to get in a Mech and go out on my own. I'll get him back. I swear it.'

 Once they'd arrived back at base, which took a while because they had to take the long way to avoid the enemy, Kageyama was helped out of the Mech by Tanaka and Noya and Asahi was running over, medical kit on hand.

 Kageyama wasn't very happy about it and kept trying to fight him off, wanting to get over to a spare Mech and head back out straight away. Asahi grabbed him around the middle, which made him shriek, and forced him to the floor, apologising while doing so.

 Without warning, he was being strapped down to a make-shift bed and Asahi was leaning over him, telling him he needed to be taken for an x-ray and possible surgery for his rib and nose. Kageyama was screaming at him, cursing and calling him every name he could think of, fighting against the restraints but no one was listening.

 Eventually, he was injected with something that calmed him down.

 He stopped fighting and lay still, his head feeling really light and his eyelids feeling heavy. He was going to lose consciousness very soon.

 'What happened to Hinata?' He could hear Ukai asking. Tanaka was the one who replied.

 'Kags said he got taken by Nekoma, probably going to hold him as hostage.'

 'I'll inform my old man about it straight away, we'll see if we have any Nekoma men we can trade for Hinata.'

 'Hey, where are Daichi and Tsukishima?' Noya was asking. 'Their Mech isn't here.'

 'They followed after you about ten minutes later,' Ukai responded. He paused. 'Only, they disappeared off the radar after about half an hour.'

 'What?!'

 The words were starting to blur together. He closed his eyes.

 'They haven't come back?'

 He was drifting off now. The last thing he heard before sleep completely washed over him was Ukai saying, 'No, we can't get in contact at all. They just ... vanished.'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't actually proof-read this chapter because it's 1am here and my brain is tired so if you do spot any mistakes please tell me.


	11. Chapter 11

 'Are you two alright?' Ukai called up to Daichi and Tsukishima, who were both still sat rigid in the Mech. Noya, Tanaka, Kageyama and Hinata had already left and the metal door had been lowered to stop sand being blown into the base. The warning light was still flashing. 'Look, if you really don't want to go, don't. I won't tell my old man.'

 Daichi gripped the controls, his hands shaking. It wasn't that he didn't want to go out, his body just wouldn't move. He was so scared. It was like if he went out there, he'd be finally admitting to himself that Suga was dead and gone and he didn't know if he was ready to move on. He could hear Tsukishima trying to control his breathing to his right.

 'I've got to go back into the control room, but if you want to go, just give me a shout.'

 Ukai left them alone.

 Daichi let out a long breath and turned to Tsukishima, whose glasses were still lopsided. 'What do you want to do?'

 It took a while for Tsukishima to reply. He rested his head back against the seat, staring around the base, before finally sighing and reaching up to close the top. It latched into place and he took hold of the controls. 'Let's go.'

 'Are you sure?'

 'Yes.'

 Major Ukai must have heard their Mech moving because the metal door began to rise, allowing them access to the city beyond. Daichi let Tsukishima take full control as they made their way out of the base and started on the path that the others had taken, being given instructions by Takeda through the com.

 'They're not that far ahead, you should be able to catch up.'

 Not having Suga by his side made Daichi uncomfortable, not that he disliked Tsukishima in any way, he just felt so agitated and jumpy and he knew if Suga was by his side all he'd need to do is look at him to feel calm again. It was almost as if Suga had taken all the calm feelings with him and had stripped Daichi of that particular emotion.

 Even sitting by himself in the base didn't help. He kept seeing Suga's face in his mind, behind closed eyelids, constantly wondering what Suga's last thoughts had been, hoping his death had not caused him any physical pain, and any loud, sharp sounds would make him jump a mile. He'd started taking out his hearing aid and placing it behind him, just to get a bit of peace, but the silence scared him. It was too much of a reminder of what had happened and he'd jammed the aids back into his ears again with shaking hands.

 No matter what any of his team mates told him, he couldn't stop blaming himself. It haunted him, day and night. He barely slept anymore, too scared to be thrown into dreams of explosions and burnt corpses. If he did sleep, he always woke up covered in sweat and breathing hard, usually to find one of his team stood beside him with a damp cloth and a glass of water. He tossed and turned a lot, muttering in his sleep, which often woke someone up.

 Tsukishima was in a similar situation, only he usually slept when no one else was in the dorm, preferably during the day. No one knew where he wandered off to at night. Tanaka had asked but hadn't gotten a solid response, Tsukishima just said he liked to walk 'around'.

 It should have been me, Daichi had told himself over and over again, I should have died. Not Suga.

 Scenarios played in his head constantly, different versions of the same event. What if he hadn't suggested the explosive attack? What if he'd gotten out of the Mech instead of Suga, or with Suga? If he'd been more careful, hadn't shattered his knee, he would have been able to do so. If they were going to die, they should have at least died together. He wished he'd told Suga everything he'd felt about him, how much he loved him and wanted to be with him. He should have kissed him when he had the chance.

 There was so much he regretted.

 Part of him was sort of glad they hadn't been able to retrieve anything of Suga, because not having any physical evidence in his hands that Suga was dead made it easier for him to deal with the whole situation, telling himself that Suga was just missing and he'd come back to them one day. Having Yamaguchi's urn around was a constant reminder that their team member was dead and gone and poor Tsukishima could never pretend otherwise.

 Daichi wondered what Tsukishima regretted most about losing Yamaguchi. He wouldn't ask, he didn't want to bring up any emotions that Tsukishima may have been working to shut away. He knew Tsukishima was quite a private person and liked to cope with things in his own way, so he probably wouldn't tell Daichi anything even if he asked.

 He wasn't even sure what kind of relationship the two of them had had either. They were always together, but that wasn't uncommon for Mech partners, and he'd never seen them do anything that wasn't platonic, but it also wasn't uncommon to fall in love with someone you spent all your time with, day in and day out. Especially since your Mech partner was usually the first friend you made when you started out life as a soldier, and there was no concept of what was 'right' and what was 'wrong' in love. Not that Daichi believed love between two men (or two women) to be wrong, otherwise he'd be a huge hypocrite, but he knew there were some people, older men in the base who'd not had their memories erased, who spoke of sin and God's judgement and other ludicrous stuff like that, which Daichi had always found to be completely ridiculous.

 If this God they spoke about really existed, why was he punishing them with this war? Why would he allow this to happen? Religion felt like it had no place within the walls of their base. God would not save them. They had to save themselves.

 When you woke up with no memories, there was nothing there that told you loving another human being was wrong. Nobody even explained love or relationships to them as it wasn't important in the life of a soldier, or so they say, it just happened because it was such a human instinct, and Daichi thought it was wonderful. Even if no human on the planet could remember their own name, they would still seek the warmth and affection of each other. 

 Suga was the first face he'd ever seen, lying across from him on the beds of the Officer Cadet dorm room. He'd gazed at Daichi with his big silvery eyes and smiled with so much joy in his face that Daichi had felt warmth spread through him and he'd grinned back, foolishly, unsure what he was doing.

 Nothing had thrilled him more when they were partnered up. He always got butterflies whenever he saw him, even near the end of their time together. They'd shaken hands and Daichi had known that this man was going to be the best thing in his life.

 Or, he _was_ the best thing in his life.

 'It'll be good when they bring in new recruits.' Daichi decided to break the silence. Tsukishima let out a small humourless laugh.

 'They just keep getting more annoying,' he said. 'And smaller.'

 'Hinata's still got time to grow.' Daichi smiled weakly.

 As Tsukishima opened his mouth to say something, a Mech came crashing into them. They both shrieked as they toppled over, but they weren't down for long, Tsukishima had them back on their feet and ready to fight. Daichi went to hit the com system, but it wasn't working.

 The Mech that had crashed into them was holding a couple of wires in its hands. It dropped them.

 'What!' Tsukishima was shocked. 'Did he just tear something out?'

 'Our com system isn't working! Those must have been the wires that linked us back to Takeda. What the- how did they know to pull those wires out? Is there a hole in the side of our Mech?'

 'How am I supposed to know? I can't get out and look.'

 'How in the world did it know where our com wires were?'

 'I don't know! Maybe it just tried to rip something out to break our Mech and by chance got them.'

 'Son of a bitch. What do you want to do?'

 'Destroy it.' Tsukishima said without hesitation. He sighed. 'I don't think the General thought our pairing though very well. We're both better at blocking.'

 'I don't think he had much choice.'

 'Mmm, I guess. I'll attack, you drive.' He let Daichi take control of the Mech. The enemy one, an Aoba Johsai Mech, was just stood waiting for them. Daichi had to stop himself from getting angry, to not think of this as the enemy that had killed Suga and just the enemy he had to defeat to help win the war. Tsukishima was doing well on keeping on hold of his emotions so Daichi knew he couldn't let his new partner down.

 With Tsukishima guiding him, Daichi ran at the Aoba Johsai Mech, ready to strike but it side-stepped them. They twisted around and tried again, but it dodged for the second time, being careful to keep its distance.

 'Why isn't it attacking us?!'

 'It's probably waiting for a vantage point,' Tsukishima said, frowning. 'It's annoying me, though.'

 The enemy flung its arms up to protect its face from the onslaught of bullets that Tsukishima sent their way, making Daichi move the Mech so they could try hitting from the side, but the enemy spun their Mech around at the middle so the bullets were hitting the back. Daichi thought for a moment about doing the explosion trick, but after what had happened last time, he didn't dare. He couldn't be the reason Tsukishima died too.

 Eventually, the enemy attacked.

 Once the bullets had stopped and Tsukishima had tried to get in a few more swipes, the enemy began throwing punches, trying to shatter the window. Daichi and Tsukishima both held their ground, trying to block as many attacks as possible. This was where they were both strongest but they couldn't spend all day just blocking attacks.

 As the Aoba Johsai Mech ducked, Daichi flung them backwards, being careful to keep their balance. He had seen Suga use that technique many times before, to try and knock them off their feet and he wasn't going to let it happen. He wasn't going to lose. Not this time.

 They got their Mech a safe distance and fired a missile, which hit close by the Aoba Mech and sent it flying down the street. It skidded along the concrete, making sparks fly, but the blast had not caused enough damage to keep their foe down. They were up again within seconds, the only real damage was peeling paintwork and scraped metal. It wouldn't slow them down.

 Tsukishima straightened his glasses as much as he possibly could, as the frame was a little bent, and clicked his tongue against his teeth, his eyes narrowed. Daichi was gripping the controls so tight it was making his palms hurt, but he was scared to let go. He needed to be ready to take on any attack that was sent their way.

 'The best thing to do would be to break their arms. Once they can't defend themselves, we can get in as much damage as possible.'

 Daichi shrugged. 'Let's give it a go.'

 Making their Mech run forwards, Tsukishima prepared their arms, trying to make it look like they were going in for a punch. The Aoba Johsai Mech raised both of its own to protect itself, which was to be expected, and their metal hands clamped down on either wrist joint and began to pull, trying to snap the hands back.

 The Aoba Mech began to push against them, moving them backwards, their feet scraping along the floor making a god-awful noise. There was a screeching noise as one of the enemy hands bent back a little, but not enough. They wrenched themselves free and caught Daichi and Tsukishima off guard, pushing them over an abandoned motorbike.

 Both of them swore as they hit the ground, bumping knees and elbows against the inside of the cockpit but not breaking anything, thankfully. Daichi decided he'd tell whoever made these jumpsuits to install knee and elbow pads when he got back to the base.

 'Roll us away!' Tsukishima cried as the enemy started trying to smash their window. Daichi tried to twist the Mech over, so it would be lying on its front, but the Aoba Johsai Mech grabbed either side of their head and twisted it back again, before picking them up a few inches off the floor and slamming them down again. They repeated this several times and Daichi was having trouble keeping hold of the controls because he was being jerked around in his seat.

As suddenly as it had started, it stopped.

Getting to their feet, Daichi spun the Mech around at the middle, confused. The Aoba Mech had moved away from them as was stood still, as though it were watching them. It raised an arm and blasted a small missile at them, which missed and hit the building behind, causing shattered brick and glass clatter onto the roof of their Mech.

 'What are they doing?'

 The enemy Mech began to move away, walking down the street as thought taking a leisurely stroll. Daichi and Tsukishima exchanged puzzled glances and with a nod from Tsukishima, they both began to follow behind. 'This is weird.'

 'Should we attack?'

 'I feel like that's what they're waiting for us to do.'

 'They're toying with us.'

  It was unusual for the enemy to act like this, they didn't usually mess around. They were there to kill. So what had gotten into the pilots of this Mech? Were they bored? Were they leading them into a trap? It made no sense that they would just let go when they had their foe in a weak position, they could have easily broken more of his and Tsukishima's Mech but they didn't.

 Something was starting to make Daichi suspect that ripping out their com system wasn't an accident.

 'It could be a trap.' Tsukishima said what Daichi had just been thinking. He didn't respond, he just continued following the Aoba Johsai Mech down the road, wondering what they could do to destroy this Mech.

 'If we hit it at the back of the knee joints while its facing away from us, we could bring it down.'

 'I guess.' Tsukishima sighed, stifling a yawn. Daichi wondered how tired Tsukishima must be, he rarely saw him sleep much. He had dark circles under his eyes and his expression was usually an irritable one. 'Go on then.'

 Of course, it was hard to try a sneak attack when the sound of  their metal feet on the road gave them away. If only he could do what Hinata did. The Aoba Mech spun at the middle and fired a shower of bullets at them, which made Daichi skid to a halt and Tsukishima raised the arms to protect their window again.

 A few moments later, the bullets stopped and the Aoba Johsai Mech started to walk forwards again. Daichi raised his arms in defeat. 'What's the point?'

 'Maybe we should just go somewhere else. We can't even get close to this one and I'm not going to just take of a tour of the city with them.'

 Agreeing, Daichi swung their Mech around and began walking the opposite way, but straight away, they heard running and the Aoba Mech appeared at their side, ramming them into the nearest building. They fell through a glass window, landing on a laminated floor of a rundown clothing shop, several creepy white mannequins stood around them.

 Tsukishima had his head in his hands. He wasn't the type to usually get riled up, but this stupid Aoba Mech was pushing his limits. 'Maybe if we just lie here, they'll kill us.'

 'Where the hell are they trying to take us? They obviously want us to follow.'

 'I honestly don't even care.'

 'Should we just follow them?'

 'I'm not going to be lead into a trap.'

 'What would be the point of trapping us? We're literally lying on the floor, unmoving, and they're just stood doing nothing. They don't seem to want to kill us.'

 Deciding to see what the enemy would do, neither of them bothered to lift the Mech back onto its feet. After a minute or two, the enemy Mech walked over to them and started trying to hoist them upright.

 Daichi used this chance, now that they were up close, to attack. He pushed the Mech back, slamming it into the wall, breaking several of the mannequins, and started aiming punches at the window, while Tsukishima started hitting the elbow joint on one of their arms in an attempt to break it.

 Some of the glass cracked but didn't break.

 The elbow joint bent inwards but not enough to stop the arm from working, it just slowed its movements down a fraction. The Aoba Johsai Mech hoisted them off the ground, as its arms were still wrapped around them, and threw them back out onto the street, where they landed on top of a busted-up car, causing the roof of it to cave in and the sound of smashing glass to hit their ears.

 'I'm just going to get out and surrender in a moment.' Tsukishima said, his tone an unhappy one.

 Once again, they were being dragged to their feet.

 'What if they want our Mech?' Daichi had a sudden thought. Tsukishima frowned at him. 'They've disconnected our com system so we can't call for back up, it's likely we aren't on the radar anymore because they don't want us revealing the secret location of their base, and now they're not trying to do much damage to us, they just want to lead us somewhere. What if it's their plan to get us to follow them back to their own base, where they'll then rip us out of this Mech and keep it for themselves, so they can see how we've designed the thing to learn how to properly defeat us?'

 'But surely there are loads of abandoned Crow Mechs just lying around out here?'

 'We keep updating them, though,' Daichi reminded him. Every time they came back from a fight, Daichi and Suga would always fill out several reports about what damage each person's Mech had taken and improvements that they thought would help, which Kiyoko then looked over and usually added when rebuilding or fixing their Mechs. 'They could be after a new one, and it's going to be much easier for them if we walk the Mech for them, rather than killing us and dragging it behind them.'

 'They could even want to take us hostage,' Tsukishima glared at the Aoba Mech, which was just stood waiting for them. It was starting to creep Daichi out a little. 'Get information out of us.'

 'What do you reckon we should do?'

 'Follow for a while, and then when we get the chance, run in a different direction as fast as we can. Maybe throw a couple of bombs behind us to slow them down. If we can't fight them, we've got to get rid of them.'

 'Sounds like the best plan we've got.' Daichi nodded.

 The moment they started to move again, the Aoba Johsai Mech turned and began leading the way. Daichi let Tsukishima control their Mech while he took a break and clenched his fists, trying to stop his hands from shaking. His fingernails were digging into his palms, but he didn't care.

 All he'd wanted to do was come out here and destroy as many Mechs as possible to vent his bottled up anger, but he couldn't because they just had to run into the most annoying enemy possible.

 Something in his brain was telling him that he should let these people lead him and Tsukishima back to their base, convince them to take them both as hostages, say they had loads of inside information about the Crow's and General Ukai, and then kill every single person they found once inside.

 He was almost certain Tsukishima would be up for this plan, because what did it matter if both of them died in the process? They had nothing else left for them. Daichi would be completely satisfied dying, known he'd taken out twice as many of their men.

No, he wasn't going to suggest it. He couldn't do that to his team. The others still needed him, and when they had new recruits in, they would need a Lieutenant. He couldn't leave Noya and Tanaka in charge.

 Plus, it'd be pointless if the enemy didn't care what they had to say and just killed them the moment they reached their base.

 After walking for about fifteen minutes, going as slowly as possible but not enough to draw attention to themselves, Tsukishima indicated to Daichi that he was going to make a right turn and run down the next small street.

 'If they come after us, drop an explosive behind us.'

 They drew closer to the street and Daichi prepared himself. Without a single word to his partner, Tsukishima turned their Mech and started sprinting down the street, as fast as he could make the Mech move, and Daichi launched a missile behind them. He didn't see it hit, he only heard it. He couldn't tell if the enemy had been caught in the blast or not.

 'Should we look?'

 'I can't run backwards.'

 'I meant spin at the middle.'

 'I still can't run backwards.'

 A clanking noise told them the Mech was pursuing them. Tsukishima tried to make them speed up but the Mech was at its limit. The enemy was gaining speed.

 'Turn us around, I'm going to blast them.'

 Tsukishima spun their Mech round as Daichi fired. The missile hit dead-centre to the Aoba Johsai Mech and flung it backwards. It crashed to the floor and skidded, only stopped once it had collided with the wall. The impact had blown open a small hole in the metal and Daichi pointed to it. 'Go, while they're down.'

 Before the enemy could get back up, they were pinning it down again. They started slamming it against the brick wall behind, repeatedly, like it had done to them earlier. Daichi then punched at the hole in their front, making the metal start to bend inwards. If he could get their hand inside, he could rip out all the wiring and stop them from moving. Then he would pull each man out of the cockpit and personally strangle each of them for getting on his nerves.

 It only took a few minutes for the Aoba Mech to be back on its feet and pushing them away. Punches started being thrown their way and Tsukishima was ready to block, but one caught the side of their head and the glass on Daichi's side split and fell in glistening shards, some scattering around his feet.

 Their Mech stumbled over uneven ground and neither of them could control it. They fell backwards, into another wall, scratching along the metal. Daichi pulled his hearing aids out, the sound going through him.

 The enemy sent another punch, caving in part of their roof. Daichi shoved his hearing aids back into his ears just as the Aoba Mech hit again.

 'Get us up!'

 'I'm trying! They keep pushing me back down.'

 That's when the Aoba Mech moved away a little and grabbed hold of either leg and started to drag them back down the road. Daichi tried to free them but they were holding on tight and stopped them from kicking. Tsukishima was trying to grab onto anything they passed, but cars and scooters just got dragged along with them, and clawing at the concrete road only made the fingers snap off one of their hands.

 When they'd reached the main road, the Aoba Mech let go and started to walk away. It stopped, turned, and waited for them.

 'I'm just going to get out and run.' Tsukishima said irritably. Neither of them were bothering to get upright. They were both completely done with trying.

 'If this stupid Mech wants us, it can either drag us there or kill us.' Daichi closed his eyes and folded his arms. He wanted to be back at the base, in his bed. He wanted to return to his fantasies where Suga was still alive and they were just normal twenty-year-old guys living a normal life. Not that Daichi had any idea of what 'normal' was. Something that didn't involve war, or fighting, or wrongful death.

 Tsukishima was slapping him on the shoulder. He snapped out of his daydream and looked at where his Mech partner was pointing. Another Aoba Mech had turned up. It stood by the first one, still as a statue, before they moved at once and came on either side of him and Tsukishima and hoisted them to their feet.

 Metal arms wrapped around both of their own, making them immobile. Tsukishima tried to push their Mech forward but they were stuck.

 A hissing sound followed and both Aoba Johsai Mechs opened their tops. A man from either climbed out, dressed in white-and-blue, and began undoing the latches on either side of their own top.

 'They're going to pull us out!'

 'I bet they called for back-up because we weren't co-operating and now these two guys are going to throw us out and pilot it themselves.'

 Tsukishima was unfastening his belt. Daichi copied him. 'When they open it, push them off.'

 Their Mech gave a great hiss and the top was lifted up and dropped backwards. Both Daichi and Tsukishima dove at the two Aoba men, Daichi grabbing the one he was facing by the shoulders and tried to throw him to the ground, but the man wrapped his arms around Daichi's, held his balance and head butted him straight in the forehead.

 Dizzy, Daichi fell back into his seat, clutching at his throbbing forehead.

 Beside him, the Aoba Johsai man Tsukishima had been wrestling with had just stabbed a silver needle into Tsukishima's neck. Daichi tried to go for him, wanting to get him as far away from Tsukishima as possible, the man who'd head butted him had his arms around Daichi's neck and was pulling him back, almost choking him.

 'Stop it! Stop it! Get off of him!' Daichi was crying out, kicking his legs at the man who'd injected Tsukishima. He raised an eyebrow at Daichi for a moment before putting both arms underneath Tsukishima's armpits and hoisted him out of the Mech and into their own. Tsukishima was awake, Daichi could see his eyes moving in his head, but his body was limp. 'No! Take me instead, I'm the Lieutenant! Leave him!'

 'We're going to take both of you.' The man holding him said slyly in his ear.  

 'Just take me!'

 Daichi was throwing his fists back, trying to hit the man behind him. One collided with something and the man made an 'ow' sound and let go. Daichi fell face-first, rubbing at his neck, but he didn't have time to recover as the man was back, wrapping his arms around Daichi's middle and trying to drag him backwards.

 'Iwa, give me the anaesthetic please.' The man who had taken Tsukishima was sat in his Mech with his partner, just watching what was going on. He didn't move to hand over anything.

 'No, Oikawa, leave him.' Another voice said. The man known as Oikawa let go of Daichi. He could hear him climbing back into his own Mech.

 'I'm going to kill every last one of you.' Daichi said darkly. Oikawa gave a light-hearted chuckle.

 'That's no way to talk to people who are trying to help you out.'

 'Help me out! You just drugged Tsukishima, and you're trying to kidnap us and you killed the man I love!' He shouted, spinning around to face Oikawa, ready to leap at him and fight, wanting blood.

 He froze, wide-eyed.

 Oikawa was smiling at him, a very smug smile that showed off his rather white teeth. He had his feet up in the cockpit and his hands behind his head, ready to enjoy whatever was going to follow.

 But Daichi wasn't looking at him.

 It was Oikawa's partner that had drawn all his attention.

 Sleek grey hair and a mole under his left eye.

 'Hey, Daichi.'

 Suga grinned at him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	12. Chapter 12

 His surroundings were unrecognisable to him.

 He'd woken up on a bed in a brightly-lit room, lying on a white linen bed, wires hooked up to his arm. It reminded him of the first day he'd woken up in the Crow's base, only, this definitely wasn't the Crow's base. It was all white and clean-looking and there were actual windows letting in beams of sunlight through  the gaps in the pale curtains.

 Hinata frowned to himself, thinking about the last things he could remember. Fighting in the Mech against Nekoma, going down... Kageyama... kissing him! Oh God, that actually happened.

 But then he was wrenched away. A clawed metal hand had wrapped around his middle, careful not to cut him, and he'd been lifted out of the Mech and taken away. He'd been screaming, not wanting to go, not wanting to leave Kageyama behind, but as soon as they'd rounded the corner and lost sight of Kageyama and his old Mech, his memories went fuzzy and faded to black.

 Nekoma had taken him, kidnapped him. They'd probably knocked him out too, but this was the last place Hinata had expected to wake up. He wasn't strapped down to the bed or handcuffed or tied up in any way. This room wasn't some kind of torture dungeon or prison cell, it looked like a hospital wing.

 There were several rows of white beds, the majority of them empty. The few that were occupied he couldn't see very well, as they were further down the room, but they all appeared to be asleep.

 The rest of the room was rather unimpressive and nothing captured his attention. He pushed himself into a sitting position and winced, clenching his teeth together, as he pulled the needle out of his arm. There was a little blood, but he ignored it.

 He wasn't wearing his jumpsuit anymore, he was in a white hospital gown. His jumpsuit was nowhere to be seen, at all. He wondered what they had done with it.

 No, why was he thinking about that now. He needed to get out of here.

 Hinata slowly climbed off the bed, his bare feet cold on the laminate floor. He stretched his arms over his head, pleased how good his entire body felt, and he then dashed towards the door that had an exit sign over it.

 It was locked.

 Repeating a swear word he'd heard Kageyama use several times, Hinata walked over to the window and peered out. His mouth dropped open.

 He was several stories up in a tall, dark-bricked building. Below, he could see a vast garden, green and lush, filled with blooming flowers and swinging trees, and there were people. Loads of people, just sitting around in the sun, not dressed in jumpsuits or anything that suggested they were going to war.

 There was a latch on the window, which allowed him to push the window open a few centimetres. He could hear the noise from outside now. The chatter of the people below, laughing together.  

 Where on Earth was he?

 How could he get out of this room? There didn't seem to be any other exits.

 Could I use anything as a weapon? Hinata thought, walking down each aisle, peering closely around each bed for anything he could use to bash someone over the head. The empty beds all had nothing surrounding them. His own bed just had an IV drip and a heart monitor. There was a bed pan but it was made out of a weird cardboard material. He dropped this.

 Even though he knew it was useless, he tried to the door again. He ended up putting both feet against the door and tugging as hard as he could on the handle.

 A clicking sound followed and Hinata's face lit up, thinking, somehow, he'd done it, but then as the door open and he jumped backwards, a face appeared.

 Hinata let out a small squeal and dived for his bed, pulling the covers over his head. He knew this wouldn't hide him at all, but he figured he'd get in less trouble if he was found in his bed, where he was supposed to be, and not trying to escape.

 'Um...'

 Breathing slowly, Hinata peered over the edge of his duvet. There was a boy around his age staring right at him, his expression completely blank. He was holding a bundle of clothes in his hands, which he dropped on the end of Hinata's bed. 'Here. These are for you.'

 'Where am I?' Hinata asked, not moving. The boy sighed.

 'Nekoma's hospital wing,' he said, the tone of his voice never changing. 'We knocked you out.'

 'What do you want from me? Why aren't in a dungeon or something?'

 The boy blinked at him. 'A dungeon? Why would we put you in a dungeon?'

 'I'm the enemy!' Hinata was kicking himself for saying all this, he should be thanking this man for not torturing him, but he was just blurting out what came to mind. 'Aren't you going to slap me around a little, shine a light in my eyes, get secret information out of me. That's why you took me, wasn't it?'

 'Huh?' The boy scratched at his head. He had parted hair that fell down just under his chin and was half-blonde, half-dark brown. Hinata was confused by it but didn't ask. 'I don't know what you are going on about, Shouyou.'

 Hinata dropped the blanket. 'You know my name?'

 This boy was really peering at him now. 'Yes.'

 'Uh... can I ask how?'

 'You don't know me?' The boy frowned slightly. Hinata wasn't sure he'd seen him blink. He had cat-shaped golden eyes.

 'I'm sorry, no. Who are you?'

 The boy opened his mouth for a moment, ready to say something, before closing it and turning away from Hinata. He began walking towards the door. Hinata jumped to his feet. 'Where are you going?'

 'Excuse me.' The boy left. He shut the door behind him and a following clicking noise told Hinata the boy had locked the door after him.

 Feeling very confused, Hinata wandered back to his bed and picked up the clothing that the boy had left for him. It wasn't like what he was used to back at the Crow base, no grey baggy shirts and trousers, instead, there was a blue checked button-up shirt and some slim fit faded blue trousers. There was also a pair of white sneakers. He changed into them, admiring how nice they looked.

 He took a seat on his bed and rested his head in his hands. How had that stranger known his name? He hadn't been wearing any kind of identification on his jumpsuit, there was nothing on his Mech that said anything about him, and he definitely had never come face-to-face with a member of Nekoma before.

 But then... that boy had asked Hinata if he knew him. He had been surprised when Hinata didn't.

 What was going on?

 Eventually, the strange boy returned, this time, he was followed by a tall guy with jet black hair, some of which was falling in his face. He surveyed Hinata with thin eyes and a small smirk, making goosebumps rise along Hinata's arms. The presence of this man made him feel very nervous. 'Long time, no see, shorty.'

_Huh?_

 'Do you know who I am?' The boy with the black hair asked. He looked a lot older, around Daichi's age.

 Hinata shook his head.

 'They must have done something to him.' He said to the strange boy, who didn't take his gaze off Hinata. 'Altered his memories.'

 'Could you please explain to me what is going on here, and how you both know me, because I'm really confused.' Hinata asked as politely as possible. They both were looking at him now and he felt really nervous.

 'My name is Tetsuro Kuroo,' the black haired one told him. He, like Hinata, was wearing strange, non-war clothing. A red jacket and black slim-fit trousers. 'I am one of the Lieutenants for Nekokma, this is Kenma Kozume, my Mech partner. He's a Lance Corporal.'

 'What do you want from me? Why did you kidnap me?'

 'Kidnap you?' Kuroo's lips formed a sly smile. 'We weren't kidnapping you, we were rescuing you.'

 'Huh?!'

 'He really doesn't remember.'

 'Remember what?!'

 Kenma titled his head to observe him. 'You used to belong to Nekoma.'

 Hinata's mouth fell open. 'What? What are you going on about? I didn't work for Nekoma... I'm from the Crow's Allegiance...'

 'How long have you been a soldier for them, Hinata?' Kuroo asked. Hinata pulled a face.

 'Uh... a while, not quite a year, I don't think. I didn't really keep track of time...'

 'So, what did you do before you worked there?'

 Hinata froze, his eyes wide. 'I don't remember... They wiped my memories.'

 'There's your explanation.' Kuroo looked down at Kenma, who's expression still hadn't changed. He just sighed. 'What's the first thing you remember about the Crow's?'

 'Waking up in their base. I didn't know who I was or anything about my past. They told me I was soldier and I had been rescued from the wastelands, that Nekoma and Aoba Johsai were my enemy and I needed to fight, so that we could make a better world, since you all destroyed it.'

 'Wow.' Kuroo laughed. 'That's quite a story you've been fed.'

 'I'm confused.'

 'You explain. I have things to do.' Kuroo gave Kenma a nudge. He let another long sigh and took a seat on Hinata's bed, while Kuroo wandered off. The moment he'd left,  Hinata turned his attention back to Kenma, who looked rather unhappy.

 'I'm tired.' He said, yawning as thought to prove it. Hinata sat still, waiting for him to speak. Eventually, Kenma opened his mouth. 'You used to be part of Nekoma.'

 'You've told me that,' Hinata said. He didn't want to believe it, that he had once been part of the enemy troops, but he knew nothing about his past, so how could he completely deny it? Maybe he had been and the Crow's had rescued him and erased his memories so he wouldn't be upset about being on the bad side and murdering innocent people. 'How did I end up as a Crow?'

 Kenma peered at him out of the corner of his eye. 'They took you.'

 'And...?'

 'You were born here.'

 Hinata sat up a little straighter. 'I was?'

 'Yeah, your family is still here.'

 He hadn't expected to hear something like that. Shock washed over him and he was stunned into silence for a while. Kenma didn't seem bothered, he just waited patiently for Hinata to reply. Eventually, he found his voice. 'I-I don't believe you.'

 'Whatever. Don't. But they are. You have a mother and a little sister.' Kenma scratched at his nose. Hinata felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he wasn't sure how to respond to this news. Nothing made sense. How could he have been born here? How did the Crow's take him... had they lied to him about being orphaned? He just couldn't get his head around it. 'We were friends.'

 'We were?'

 'Yeah, we grew up together.'

 No wonder he'd been surprised when Hinata hadn't recognised him. He stared at Kenma, trying to picture them hanging out together, laughing together (assuming Kenma ever laughed), perhaps even fighting together, but no matter how hard he tried, no memories would return to him. This man was good as a stranger to him.

 'You started fighting for Nekoma when you were fifteen, I don't remember your partners name. I think they died. ' Kenma was staring around the room, as though he'd spotted something fascinating fluttering around. 'They all said you were pretty incredible, as soon as you were in a Mech, but I suppose that's what happens when you spend your life training for it...'

 He turned his attention back to Hinata, who was listening intently. 'No one could move a Mech like you did.'

 'I could do the Quick before...'

 'Is that what you're calling it? Uh, ok, sure.' Kenma shrugged. 'When news spread  that there was a Crow Mech that could move faster than anyone, I had to find out if it was you or not. It was.'

 'Wait, so my name is actually Shouyou Hinata? The Crow's told me that they'd picked that name for me. Why did they tell me my family was dead?'

 'Well, they're the bad guys.'

_Huuuuh?_

 'Whaaa!' Hinata cried, moving over to him. 'What do you mean? They're not the bad guys! You're the bad guys! You destroyed the city, the world-'

 'The world?' Kenma raised an eyebrow at him. 'You really believe that?'

 'I mean... I did... I saw the city...'

 Kenma blinked slowly at him. 'The Crow's did that. What did they tell you?'

 'That the war has been going on for a really long time, although I never knew _how_ long exactly, no one could give me exact numbers, maybe a few hundred years? But I did think none of it made sense, because how could there still be survivors living in the city after all that time? They'd have died out. So, how could they rescue all the recruits...' Hinata trailed off, trying to put two and two together.

 'Hmm, you'd think they'd come up with a more convincing story than that.' Kenma shuffled into a more comfortable sitting position. 'The war has only been going on for about twenty-three years, give or take. That city is the only city that was destroyed and we've blocked it all off from the outside world. The people the Crow's are recruiting are people they've kidnapped.'

 'This isn't happening. How can this be happening?' Hinata pressed his knuckles into his forehead. 'I still don't understand.'

 'There were four main leaders of different areas,' Kenma explained, although he looked quite bored with the whole situation, as though he had other things he wanted to go do. 'Nekoma, Aoba Johsai, Dateko and the Crow's.'

 'Yes, they told us that, and the other three wanted to overthrow humanity and-'

 'Please let me finish. What they told you is false. It was the Crow's Allegiance that wanted all the power. They built their base in secret for many years before they raided the city, destroyed it, and turned against us. After a while, they started taking our men.'

 'They took me?'

 Kenma nodded. 'However many months ago, you were sent out on a search-and-destroy mission and you were attacked. You lost your partner, but you survived. They said you went up against some 'King of the Battlefield', I don't know what that means.'

 'Kageyama... I fought against Kageyama...'

 'Oh, you know him?'

 'He's my Mech partner.'

 'The one you kissed?'

 Hinata's face burnt red. He coughed. 'Kageyama never leaves anyone alive, why did he kill my partner but not me?'

 Kenma shrugged. 'I don't know. I wasn't there. He probably thought he had killed you. You were calling for help through the intercom system, but by the time the search teams got to your Mech, you had gone. Someone from the Crow's team had taken you. I bet they figured you'd be a good asset to their team.'

 'And then they erased all my memories so I'd fight for them instead...' Hinata fell back onto his pillows, staring at the ceiling, one hand on his forehead. He didn't cry. He didn't feel anything. 'Does that mean, all those people I fought against, were really the good guys? I've been killing innocent people?'

 'Yeah.' Kenma wasn't subtle about it. 'If it's any consolation, we rescued that Dateko guy you shot.'

 The Dateko guy? Hinata frowned, before bolting upright. 'The white haired one?'

 'Yeah, the bullets all hit him just below his ribs, so he survived, barely. We got to him in time. He spent a long time in here.'

 'Thank goodness,' Hinata smiled. He felt a little lighter now he knew one person hadn't been killed because of the Crow's. 'What is their aim, then?'

 'If they can overthrow all of us, they can go on to take over completely. If they have this memory erasing ability, then they could just make everyone obey them. They want to be worshiped.'

 'I wish you'd brought Kageyama, too...'

 'Hmm, yeah. Well, when we went after your Mech, I didn't know if it was you or not. We had to make sure. Kuroo told me to leave the other guy.'

 This was all so much to take in. His whole life- that he knew of- had been a lie. Not only had the Crow's Allegiance lied to him, about his past and about the war, they had taken memories from him that he would give anything to know once more. He wanted to remember his friendship with Kenma, he wanted to remember what his life had been like here at Nekoma and how different it had been, and he wanted to remember his family. He had a mother and a sister, but he had no idea what kind of people they were or what they looked like.

 'We don't expect you to go back in a Mech.'

 'Don't you need more men?'

 Kenma got to his feet. 'People can sign up if they want to, nobody forces anyone to fight. I take it you don't get much of a choice with the Crow's.'

 Hinata shook his head. 'They say you have to earn your place.'

 'Hmm. Sounds about right. Come on.'

 'Where are we going?'

  'Your mother wants to see you. I was supposed to take you once you'd woken up, but you didn't remember me. Uh... Should I tell her first? She's going to expect you to know who she is.'

  _My mother_... Hinata felt excitement spread through his entire body. He got to his feet so fast he gave himself a head rush, but he didn't care. He was beaming. He was going to meet his family.

 For them, they must have only been missing Hinata for a short while, not even a year, but for him, it was brand new.

 What if they hated him for fighting against them? What if they thought he had changed and didn't want him as part of their life anymore? Suddenly, he felt very worried. He had no idea what he was going to be greeted with, what kind of people they were. Did he have a father? Kenma hadn't mentioned anything about a father. Perhaps he had died.

 Following behind Kenma, the two of them left the hospital wing. He was lead down white-painted corridors, which were so open and calming compared to the dark, dingy labyrinth that was the Crow's base. Kenma took a right and went down some stairs, entering into a huge lobby area, which had polished floors and more white walls and a large reception desk. There were loads of people walking around, none of them in battle uniforms.

 'Is this the Nekoma base?'

 'Huh? No, this is the hospital.'

 'A whole building? You said it was the Nekoma hospital wing.'

 'Yeah, we have our own ward for our soldiers, but there are other people here too.'

 It was all so amazing.

 They left the building through glass double doors and Hinata felt the air leave his lungs. They'd emerged onto a bustling high street, with shops running as far as the eye could see down the street. Cars, buses and scooters were rumbling up and down the middle of the road. He turned around to look up at the hospital, which was at least twenty stories high and looked magnificent. It took up most of their side of the street.

 'This is unbelievable. Where are we?'

 'It's Southern Tokyo.'

 Hinata just stared at him. 'What?'

 'You don't know much, do you?'

 'Where's that?'

 'South... Tokyo?'

 'So, where is the Crow's base? Are we near it? We can't be, I've never seen anything like this.'

 'Uh, they're located further North, in the Miyagi Prefecture. It's all of Sendai that they destroyed... you're not getting any of this, are you?'

 'Nope.'

 'I'm not going to give you a Geography lesson,' Kenma sighed as they walked down the street together. He kept making Hinata walk by his side and not wander off, but Hinata was so ecstatic about the whole thing. He wanted to go explore, talk to people in the street, look at things in the shops. 'We're far enough away from them that you don't need to worry about it, that's all.'

 It took the pair of them twice as long to get to the bus stop, where Kenma said they needed to go, as Hinata kept running up to shop windows and peering in, pressing his nose against the glass and leaving smudges from his fingertips. There was an entire shop devoted to television sets, nothing like he'd ever seen before. Bright and colourful, showing some kind of sports game that involved tossing a ball over a net that Hinata found fascinating to watch. Kenma had to drag him away.

 He was just as excited to be on a bus and everyone kept giving him strange looks, one old woman shushing him, since he wouldn't stop babbling. Kenma just let him talk, not replying much.

 There were just so many people, they all looked so interesting and he wanted to know what kind of lives they lead, what they knew about the war.

 The hustle and bustle of city life didn't seem to ever end, no matter what street the bus turned down, there was loads to look at, shops and restaurants and bars. If Kenma wasn't with him, Hinata would have probably gotten off the bus by now and gone adventuring round the city.

 'How come it's always so hot in the wasteland city?'

 Kenma, who had been zoning out, had to be brought back to Earth with a gentle poke by Hinata. 'Um, I think they did something to the Ozone layer. I dunno. It makes the sun rays get through easier.'

 'Ozone layer?' Hinata repeated. There was so much he didn't know and it was really frustrating him.

 'It might be better if you went back to school.'

 'I went to school!?' Hinata shouted and the old woman shushed him again, looking angry. Hinata lowered his voice. 'What did I learn? Did I go here? Is that where I met you?'

 'Yeah, we went to school together.'

 'Am I different?'

 'Different?'

 'Yeah, have I changed at all?'

 Kenma studied him for a second. 'You haven't grown much.'

  _It's only been less than a year!_ Hinata didn't say this, though. 'No, I mean, personality wise.'

 'No, not really.'

 Thank goodness! Hinata fell back into his seat, returning to gazing out the window. If he hadn't changed much, his family wouldn't hate him. Hopefully.

 Part of him was slightly disappointed when it came to finally getting off the bus. He liked looking at the city, but also, he was super excited because it meant he was close to finally meeting his family.

 They walked for a little bit, Hinata talking about his life in the Crow base and asking about all of his team members, wondering if Kenma had known any of them, but he'd just shrugged and said it was unlikely. They probably hadn't come from Tokyo.

 'Just because Nekoma's base is located in North Tokyo, doesn't mean every single person who joins up was born there. They come from all over Japan.'

 'Japan, where's that?'

 'I need to get you a globe.'

 'What's a globe?'

 No response. Kenma went back to ignoring him.

 They'd entered some kind of housing area, which had caught Hinata's interest. All the concrete houses were all crammed in together, entrances hidden down little side streets, many with balconies that had clothing hanging from the railings. Lots of plants were decorating doorsteps and some buildings had several stories, with steps leading up to the second level.

 'Here.' Kenma had stopped in front a small, square building that had only two floors. It was crammed in between two much taller buildings. There was a balcony from each upper floor window, one was empty, the other had more clothing hanging from it. Female clothing. 'Just go in. Make sure you take your shoes off. She'll be waiting for you.'

 'Aren't you coming in? I thought you were going to tell her about my memories.'

 'I don't want to.' Kenma said, completely honestly. Hinata shuffled his feet.

 'I'm nervous. I don't want them to dislike me.' When he got no response from Kenma, he took a step towards the door. It was wooden and had the number '10' on it. Kenma had already started walking away. 'Wait! Wait!'

 Kenma looked over his shoulder.

 'What are their names?'

 'Uh... Hitomi and Natsu.'

 He continued to walk off, leaving Hinata feeling very scared. He hadn't said which name was which.

 It took him a while to get the courage to open the door. He felt a bit rude about it, like he should knock, but he ended up just throwing himself through the door. He was greeted with a wooden hallway and a set of stairs. There were two doors down the hallway, both closed.

 There wasn't much in the hallway, just a few pictures hanging on the walls. Hinata closed the door gently behind him and took off his shoes, leaving them on a little rack that was stood next to the door. There were several shoes already on here, although for much smaller feet.

 His attention was drawn to the pictures on the wall. They were of him.

 Gasping, he approached them, putting his hand against his own face in one of the photos. One of was him and a little girl who looked just like him, with the same shock of messy orange hair, except she had big brown eyes, whereas Hinata's were orange. He didn't look any younger in this photo. He was grinning broadly and hugging his sister, who looked about six years old.

 The other photos had him and a woman he could only assume was his mother. She had short brown hair and eyes. She looked very kind. She was cuddling her two children, beaming. He couldn't quite believe it. This was his family.

 He turned to look around, peering up the stairs. Did he have a bedroom? This must have been his home, once upon a time. What memories did he have here? What had his life been like?

 Voices floated through from the room at the end of the hall. He felt his body go stiff, rooted to the spot. He stared at the door, longingly, wanting to go but his body wouldn't let him. What would he see when he walked through that door? How would his mother and sister react to his return?

 His mother knew he was back, Kenma or Kuroo or someone had informed her, because she had asked for him.

 But she expected her son, that knew her, that had fond memories of her, the little boy she'd raised. What if he disappointed her expectations?

 Eventually, he let out a long breath and forced his legs to move.

 As he pushed open the door, he heard a gasp and something small flew at him, making him cry out and fall backwards, landing on his backside.

 A small girl with fiery orange hair was clinging to him, her arms wrapped around his neck. She grinned up at him, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. 'SHOUYOU! YOU'RE BACK! MUM HE'S HOME!'

 'Let him up, dear.'

 Hinata's sister took a while to let go off him, before she back away, wiping her eyes. She walked over to join her mother, who was seated at the wooden dining table, which was set in the middle of a small, cosy-looking kitchen, a cup of green tea in her hands. She was smiling at Hinata, her face full of love and sheer happiness. 'Welcome back, sweetheart.'

 He hadn't meant to start crying, but he couldn't stop himself. Mixed emotions had overwhelmed him. He pressed his face into his hands and sobbed, just stood in the doorway to the kitchen.

 'Hey, hey, it's alright, you're safe. You're home.' His mother said, getting to her feet and walking over to him. She lowered his hands and he looked up at her, wishing he knew _anything_ about her.  Her face didn't register to him at all, but something made him feel calm and happy, like something in his subconscious was telling him to trust this woman, that she was definitely something to him, someone important.

 Hinata threw his arms around her and she hugged him back, even tighter. 'I've missed you so much.'

 His sister was back, squeezing in between both of them, hugging Hinata again too. The three of them stood there for some time, just embracing, before his mother let go and lead him over to the table, pushing him down into a seat. She began bustling around the kitchen, making him a hot drink and getting some ready-made food out of the fridge, while his sister sat next to him, asking him loads of questions.

 'Where have you been? What happened to you? They said you'd been kidnapped but Kenma rescued you. Did you really work for the Crows? Why? Did they threaten you? I asked Mum if I could have your room but she said no. Do you still want it?'

 'Natsu, leave him be.' If his sister was Natsu, she must be Hitomi. She placed a cup of tea in front of him and a plate of white rice wrapped in seaweed. 'Here, honey, I hope they were at least feeding you at that horrible place! I can't believe they forced you to fight for them.'

 'I- Uh-' Hinata didn't want to lie to them. He didn't want to say that he'd been abused and forced into a Mech, that he knew Nekoma and Aoba Johsai were really the good guys. He didn't want to pretend he still knew them, that he remembered their life together. More tears came running down his cheeks and he pressed his knuckles into his eyes. 'I'm so sorry!'

 They were both a little taken back. Natsu stood up in her chair, leaning over the table. 'Why are you sorry, Shouyou?'

 'I don't remember you!' He had blurted out. He wiped at his nose, which was running. His mother handed him a tissue, which he blew into. They were both looking very confused. 'The Crow's... they wiped my memories.'

 'They did what?' His mother cried, taking her seat at the table. She almost knocked over her drink. 

 Hinata explained everything that had happened, how Kenma said he'd been taken from a Nekoma Mech, how the Crow's Allegiance had wiped his memories and told him he'd requested it, that he was from the wastelands of the city of Sendai and he'd been orphaned, and how they were the good guys fighting in an ongoing war to save humanity. Both his mother and sister listened intently, keeping quiet apart from Natsu who expressed her feelings through gasping and cries of 'whhaaaa!'.

 'Please don't hate me,' Hinata sobbed, pressing the damp tissue to his face. 'I want to remember you, I really do!'

'Shouyou,' his mother placed a hand on his arm. He stopped crying and looked at her. She was still smiling. She didn't look mad or upset. 'Why would we hate you? We love you and we're so happy you're home, regardless of your memories.'

 'Those Crow jerks are so horrible! How could they do that to people! Taking away their memories!' Natsu slammed her hand on the table, which got her a sharp glance from her mother. 'By the way, Shouyou, you used to give me your pocket money every week.'

 'Natsu! Don't start teasing him! He's been through a lot!'

 'Shouyou, listen to me, you're still my son. You're still Natsu's big brother. We can build new memories, we can show you old photos and home videos of your life, it doesn't change anything. We're not going to stop loving you because you had your memories wiped.'

 This made him start crying again.

 'I'm going to run you a bath,' his mother said, getting to her feet. 'Natsu, show him where his room is. I'll contact your grandparents later, they'll want to see you. Everyone is going to be so thrilled you're back.'

 'To stay for good, yeah?' Natsu grinned at him. Hinata stared at her for a moment.

 'I'm going to go back.'

 They both froze. His mother put her hands on her hips. 'What?'

 'I need to rescue Kageyama, and the rest of my team. I can't leave them there. I need to go back for them.'

 'No, I don't want you to!' Natsu said, very demanding. Hitomi put a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

 'Shouyou, before you start thinking about any of that, please just settle down for a bit first. We can call up Kuroo and the Nekoma General and tell them your story, I'm sure they'll come around at some point anyway. They'll want to know about the Crow base. They can organise getting your team back. I don't want you to fight anymore. Please, Shouyou, for me and your sister.'

 Despite nodding, Hinata had already decided he was going to go back for his friends. If he could convince them about the life outside the walls of the Crow base, out of Sendai city, they could all have the lives they deserved in Tokyo. He wouldn't tell his family this, he knew they weren't going to be willing to let him go off again, but he knew he would never be happy, never fully satisfied, knowing his friends were still stuck back with the enemy.

 If they all got out, they could all track down their own families.

 He had to do it.

 Whenever he got chance to speak with the Nekoma General, he would tell him everything he wanted to do and hopefully they'd allow him to go through with his plan.

 For now, he allowed his mother to run him a bath while he followed Natsu upstairs, where she showed him his bedroom, which had a large, neatly-made bed, a computer desk and a shelf full of books. There were posters all over the wall showing someone called the 'Small Giant', who Natsu said was a volleyball player that Hinata had always admired.

 She also said she was allowed to use Hinata's computer whenever she wanted, and even though he wasn't sure whether she was fibbing or not, he nodded and said it was alright. He had no idea how to even work a computer, so he wasn't that fussed about it.

 'I'm really glad you're back, Shouyou. I really missed you.' Natsu came and sat down on the bed with him. She wrapped her arms around his. 'Please don't go away again.'

 'I won't,' he said, staring around the unfamiliar room that he had once grown up in. 'I promise. I'll always come back.'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Hinata's mum doesn't actually have a name but I did a little searching into fandom names and Hitomi came up so ???? If there's an official name or an official fandom name, please let me know.  
> Plot twist yey ~


	13. Chapter 13

 Family life was bizarre. It was nothing like what he was used to back at the Crow base.

 He was never woken up by the sound of a shrill alarm, he didn't have to share a room with several other people and everything was always bright and cheerful. His room was at the front of the house, with the empty balcony that overlooked their little street below. Not much came up and down the street, aside from a scooter or two, which disappointed him slightly. He wanted to see more of the city.

 Waking up to his mother's face felt so strange, but so exhilarating at the same time. He knew he would never be able to have the same feelings for her as he'd once had, back before he'd lost his memories, but being around her still made him happy, he felt comfortable talking to her and felt completely at ease in their house, as though he had never really left at all. There was something familiar about the smell of the place, which he tried to latch onto, hoping it would trigger a memory, but nothing ever came to him. 

 Having a little sister was a delight, too. She was so energetic and lively, always smiling, wanting to talk to him and tell him about her life. They sat together while she rifled through hundreds of old photos of them both, showing baby photos of himself, photos of trips to the beach together and visiting various temples around Japan, and some photos of their father, who she said died when she was a newborn.

 Apparently, Hinata had used to tell her stories about him, and now she was repeating the same stories back to her brother, and sadness tugged at his heart, wishing he could remember this man who had clearly once been a really important part of his life.

 Two weeks had passed since he'd been rescued by Kenma. He hadn't had any opportunities to speak to the Nekoma General because he was really busy, but he had sent word along that someone would come collect Hinata at some unspecified point and bring him to Nekoma headquarters, and he should just be patient and enjoy the time he had to spare with his family.

 Despite missing his friends, and worrying about them constantly, Hinata had really enjoyed the past weeks. It had been so incredible. His mother had taken him and his sister out shopping, let him go into any store that caught his eye and look around, bought him new clothes that he thought were awesome (even though Natsu laughed at his fashion choices) and took him for beef dumplings and sushi and all kinds of other wonderful food he'd been denied back at the Crow base, as well as eating something called 'Tamago kake gohan' every morning for breakfast, which was rice mixed with raw egg and soy sauce, which he'd decided was his all time favourite thing.

 He wanted nothing more than to be able to bring Kageyama and the rest of the team here. They would love it. Tanaka and Noya would be over the moon at the amount of women there were, especially as a lot of them wore very short skirts and low-cut tops. He wished they were with him, longed for it even, he wanted to be able to hold Kageyama's hand as he dragged him from shop to shop, take them for loads of delicious street food, and help them all find their own long lost families. It's the least they deserved.

 Waiting for the General to collect him was starting to get on his nerves. He had no idea what had happened to Kageyama after he'd been taken. Hopefully, he had managed to get back to the base safely. He hoped Noya and Tanaka had made it out alive and Daichi and Tsukishima were doing alright. If only Suga and Yamaguchi were still with them. They would have loved this too.

 It was over dinner, on the first day of the third week, that someone knocked on the door and asked for Hinata. 

 His mother hadn't been very pleased to see him go, but he'd hugged her tightly and let her kiss him on the cheek, and promised he would be back as soon as possible and he'd fill them in on everything that had happened.

 Natsu clung to his leg, pouting.

 'I'll come back. I swear.' He put a hand over his heart. 'Cross my heart and hope to die.'

 'Stick a needle in your eye?' Natsu narrowed her eyes at him, pointing her index finger at him. He nodded and pulled down on one his eyes, sticking out his tongue. She laughed and copied him.

 'I'll put the rest of your dinner in the fridge!' Hitomi shouted after him as he followed the man to a black car. The man opened the door for him and Hinata slid inside, making a lot of excited noises. It was so fancy. The seats were plush leather and there were buttons on the ceiling which he was itching to press, it smelt like lemons and fresh-grass, and there was a cool air blowing on his face from an air con.

 Travelling through the city at night had started to become one of his favourite things, it was breath taking. The whole city was lit up, every sign and advertisement flashing various colours, big screens showing ads offering a variety of products, and the streets were always so full with life, people trailing up and down, going to nightclubs and bars and doing some late night shopping or having dinner under the inky black sky in little seating areas outside shops.

 What did these people know of the war? Did they even care?

 When he'd asked his family about it, they said most people treated it the same way South Korea treated the North, which they'd then had to explain to him because he had no idea what North and South Korea were and Natsu had eventually slapped a huge world map on the floor and began pointing out where they were and what all the other countries and continents were (that she knew of at her age). Hinata had been gobsmacked about how big the world actually was.

 'The South aren't threatened by the North, even though they would do anything to claim power.' His mother had explained. 'Sendai city is completely quarantined off, and there's too much empty land around it for people to be worried that any Crow members will make their way down to Tokyo. Most people don't even consider it a war.'

 'They should see it for themselves.'

 'Ignorance is bliss. There's little danger of the Crow's ever getting out of Sendai, because Nekoma and Aoba Johsai are there to prevent that from happening. You used to be one of the Nekoma team that was assigned with trying to infiltrate the enemy base.'

 'Well, I did get in. Technically.' Hinata joked. His mother had smiled at him, although there was sadness in her eyes. She didn't like it when Hinata talked about his time in the Crow base, so he'd eventually stopped mentioning it (although he told Natsu stories about it at night, when she would come and sneak into his room and curl up on a mattress on the floor).

 'Is the main Nekoma base in Tokyo? Isn't that far away from Sendai?'  He asked the driver, who was weaving carelessly in and out of traffic.

 'Yeah, that's where people go to sign up and train. There are a few Nekoma bases located around Sendai, which is where you are sent when training is complete and you are ready to join the fight. There's dormitories there and a transport system to take people to the nearest town, if they have a day off and fancy some time away from the camp.'

 'Can you quit being a soldier?'

 'You sign a year's contract. If you want to quit after that, then you can, otherwise you can sign on for another and so on.'

 Hinata spent the rest of the journey with his nose pressed up against the car window, asking the driver questions about his own life, what he thought of the war and what loads of the shops were that they passed by. The driver, thankfully, seemed very friendly and was more than happy to keep up a conversation with Hinata.

 When they finally reached the Nekoma headquarters, Hinata had left a lot of fingerprints and nose smudges on the glass. He gasped and threw himself out of the car, staring up at this towering building, made almost out of glass, which was shining like a beacon of light against the dark night sky.

 'They train here?!'

 'No, these are just the offices. The training grounds are at the very back. I've got to go run other errands, so just go inside, through those double doors there, and speak to whomever is on the reception desk. They'll point you in the right direction.' The driver told him kindly. Hinata thanked him, gave a small bow (how Natsu had showed him. He didn't know any of the customs anymore) and scurried up the steps and into the building.

 Slipping slightly on the polished floor of the reception area, Hinata half-jogged, half-walked to the front desk and leaned against it, unable to stop himself from smiling. The woman behind the desk smiled back at him. 'Hello there, welcome to Nekoma Headquarters. How can I help you?'

 'I was called here to speak to the General. My name is Shouyou Hinata.'

 'Just one moment.' She picked up the phone on her desk and pressed a button. She spoke into it, mentioning his name, clicking a few times on her computer screen, which Hinata couldn't see, before she placed the phone back down and gave him another sweet smile. 'Please take the elevator on your left to the top floor. The General will meet you there.'

 'Thanks!'

 The walls of the elevator were lined with mirrors, which had startled Hinata because he'd thought there was someone else in the lift when the doors had opened. He'd never been in one before, to his recollection, and felt a twang of panic as the doors slid shut behind him, sealing him in this little box.

 There were buttons on the wall, numbered 1 to 50. The top floor had to be 50, he guessed, so he jabbed the button. It lit up and the lift started to move, which made him jump and grab onto the hand rail.

 Back in the Crow base, he hadn't spent much time looking at his own reflection. There was a small mirror in the washroom, which he used to make sure his hair looked good, but he'd never been that interested in his own appearance. He couldn't help but study himself a little closer now, baring his teeth and pulling at his ear lobes.

 In all honesty, there was little about him that he didn't like. He felt the vivid colour of his hair and eyes made him unique, his face was little and cute and he was quite skinny, which his mother had nagged about, saying those 'evil Crow's' hadn't been feeding him properly. The only thing he would change would be his height. He wanted to be as tall as Kageyama. Taller, even.

 Imagining the look Kageyama would have on his face if Hinata ever outgrew him, he didn't realise the lift had stopped until the doors slid open and an old man greeted him. He fell back to Earth and got out of the lift, scared the doors would close and take him all the way back down to the bottom floor again.

 'It's good to see you again, Hinata. Ah, but of course, you won't know me. I'm General Nekomata.'

 They shook hands. Hinata remembered to bow.

 'My office is this way, please, follow me.'

 Hinata did as he was told and followed the General down a red-carpeted corridor and into a room at the very end. It was nothing like General Ukai's office, which was small and solid concrete. It was large, glass windows overlooking the twinkling city, and it had a welcoming feel, with armchairs and coffee tables and rows and rows of books piled on wooden shelves. He indicated to Hinata to sit in an armchair and he took the one opposite, pouring both of them some tea.

 'So, they tell me you've lost your memories.'

 'Yes. The Crow's took them.'

 'I heard. Kenma Kozume told me the story. I had no idea that's how the Crow's were making our men fight for them. I had assumed some form of threat had been involved.' He sipped his tea, thinking. He had a very friendly looking face, though heavily-wrinkled. He smiled a lot. He made Hinata feel calm. 'So, you remembered nothing upon waking up?'

 'No, Sir,' Hinata shook his head, cupping the warm tea in both hands. 'They gave me a jumpsuit and a name tag, told me they'd picked the name for me and that I'd been orphaned and left to die in the wastelands by the enemy teams, then they just assigned me to a team and I started training almost straight away.'

 'What can you tell me about their base?'

 'Uhh... Well, I think it's underground, because there are no windows.'

 'Where exactly is it located?'

 'I don't know, they don't tell us stuff like that. All we are told is we are need to fight. That's it.' When the General didn't reply, Hinata sat up in his seat and cleared his throat. 'Uh, Sir, I was wondering, I don't know if anyone has said, but I was hoping I could possibly rescue my team-'

 The General blinked at him, confused. 'I'm sorry?'

 'My team, that I left behind at the Crow base. I swear they're really good people. They deserve to get out of there, get a chance at freedom-'

 'I'm sorry, Hinata,' General Nekomata raised a hand. His was still smiling although his tone was serious. 'I can't start rescuing every single Crow member, regardless of your relationships with them. Kenma went against orders when he took you, but we allowed it because we all knew you had been one of us and thought you might have inside information about the Crow's. There's no way of knowing how your old team would react to finding out their entire life has been a lie. They could have been brainwashed too much by the enemy, we can't have people turning against us or leaking our secrets back to base. It's much too risky.'

 'Is everyone at the Crow base not an old member of Nekoma or Aoba Johsai then?'

 General Nekomata shook his head. 'Some are. They often try and kidnap our best men, which is why they went after you. No, a lot of them are kidnapped from the surrounding cities and towns up near Sendai. They have special forces that are sent out, that have access through our walls, somehow. I was hoping you'd know about that too, but apparently not.'

 'I'm really sorry, Sir, there's not much I can tell you. We are assigned to one area of the base and that's where I spent most of my time, working and training with my team. The only other place I really went was the cafeteria.'

 'Did you speak with General Ukai much?' There was a tone of resentment in his voice. Hinata frowned but didn't question it.

 'No, not really. I'm only a Private. He speaks to Lieutenants and higher ups.' Hinata shuffled again. 'If I gave you a list of names, could you tell me if you know any of the members of my team or find out where their families are?'

 'How about I give you a list of all the Nekoma men and women that have been taken by the Crow's and you tell me if any of them are on your team?' He offered instead. Hinata nodded.

 The General got to his feet and walked over to his desk, pulling open a drawer and rifling through it. He pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Hinata. There were only about forty names on this list. His name was on there, although now crossed out with a red marker.

 'Tanaka! Saeko and Ryuunosuke! He was on my team! His sister is Major!' Hinata waved the paper excitedly. 'I can't believe he used to work for Nekoma. I'd love to see his face if I told him that.'

 'Ah yes, Tanaka. I remember them. Loud pair. He and his sister used to be partners, but they went missing four years ago. I never would have assumed they'd still be alive by this point.'

 'If they were from Nekoma, that means we can rescue them, right?!'

 General Nekomata sighed and looked at Hinata with pitying eyes. 'I'm sorry, Hinata, I can't risk my troops by having them prise open every Crow Mech to look for the Tanaka siblings. The only reason Kenma spotted you was because he recognised the way you moved. We have no idea what the Tanaka's fighting style is like, plus it's likely it's changed in the four years they have been with the Crow's.'

 Hinata sagged in his seat, letting the paper fall out of his hand. The General was observing him closely. 'You look upset.'

 'I can't be happy knowing they're still stuck there. I want to help them.' He looked up at the General with pleading eyes. 'Please, Sir, there must be _something_ I could do. _Anything_.'

 'The only thing I can offer you is a place back in our troops. You can fight alongside Kenma again, I'm sure he'd like that.'

 That's when Hinata had a brilliant idea and his eyes lit up. 'Sir! Sir! What if! I go back in as a spy!'

 'A spy?'

 'Yeah! You could act like you took me for a hostage, and I could pretend I escaped and made my way back to the base, act upset, like the Crow's Allegiance is my home and then get you inside information!'

 'Well, that does sound like quite an idea. What if they suspected you?'

 'Beat me up a bit!' Hinata said, even though he didn't really want to be beaten up. 'I can act like I was tortured for information but wouldn't give any.'

 'They'll know you once belonged to Nekoma. They could be suspicious.'

 'Please, Sir, let me try! I promise I can put on a good act! I bet I can convince them! They'll want me back, they need my Quick. My team will defend me too.'

 'What do you get out of this?'

 Hinata fell back in his seat, locking eyes with the General. 'If I do this for you, I want you to promise me that I can bring my team back with me. We can escape in our Mechs, follow other Nekoma ones out of the city. They'll listen to me. They'll believe me. Daichi, our Lieutenant, is already suspicious about the higher ups,  and that poem all makes sense now! The Aoba Johsai man knew we were being lied to! He knew we didn't know the truth about the war!'

 'Aoba Johsai man?'

 'Yeah, he had escaped from the prison, wherever that is in the base. He was repeating this poem about the old crow getting slow and knowing a lot, and the young crow knowing nothing. It makes sense! How did I not put it all together!'

 'Well, how could you? You had no idea what life was like outside those walls.' He sighed and scratched his greying head. 'I've decided that I'm going to allow you to go through with this mission-'

'YES! Thank you so much! I won't let you down!' Hinata had jumped to his feet. The General waved a hand, telling him to settle down. 'Ah, sorry, Sir. I'm just excited.'

 'Yes, I can see. You haven't changed much, despite losing your memory. I guess personality is just engraved into your core system. Anyway, Hinata, I'm going to allow you to go through with this but it's at your own risk. There's a possibility that you might get caught, they might not believe you, and if that happens, there's nothing we can do to help you. Once you're inside their base again, you're on your own.'

 'I'm willing to take the risk, Sir. I need to save my friends.'

 'Very admirable of you.' He put down his empty cup. 'We'll have to make arrangements for you to travel back up to Sendai and get you inside the city. We'll make sure we keep all our forces back, Aoba Johsai included, so you can make your way through the city safely. We don't know where their base is exactly but we can point you in the right direction.'

 'I know my way from the bakery.' Hinata said. The General looked confused but didn't ask him about it.

 'And if you can't convince your friends, and I mean one hundred percent convince them, then you leave without them. That's an order.'

 'I won't let you down. They'll listen to me, I swear.'

 

 Kuroo had offered to beat Hinata up.

 He'd met up with Kuroo's team a day later, as they were going to be coming up to Sendai with him and helping him find his way back to the Crow base. He told them his plan and Kuroo's lips had twisted into a smirk.

 'We've got to make it look convincing.'

 'I'll give it a go.' A boy named Taketora Yamamoto cracked his knuckles. Hinata was immediately terrified of him upon seeing him. He had most of his head shaved, apart from a blonde bit running down the centre and he gave off a very threatening aura- although Hinata decided he wasn't that bad after a pretty girl had walked by and Yamamoto had blushed a violent shade of red and hidden from her.

 Kenma was sat on the table of the conference room, playing on some kind of electronic game. Hinata had been quite fascinated by it, but the others had told him not to waste his time sitting around watching Kenma play video games.

 It was the following morning, after he'd met with General Nekomata. He'd been driven home, told his mother that he had to go back for more questions, feeling really guilty about lying to her, which had caused him to have a restless night's sleep. When she'd hugged him goodbye the following morning and handed him a little box with some lunch in it, he'd tried his hardest not to cry. He had to tell himself he was going to see her again, and Natsu. He'd be back. He had to be positive.

 Would his mother be mad at him for lying to her? Would she let him come back at all? Surely she would. If he explained his reasoning and introduced her to Kageyama and the rest of the group. Natsu would get on really well with Noya.

 Hinata and the Nekoma team had been instructed to wait in a conference room until someone came to pick them up. They'd be driven up to the outskirts of Sendai city, where they'd take Hinata into the wastelands in a Nekoma Mech, which they'd now equipped with the same technology that Aoba Johsai had to keep themselves off the radar, and drop Hinata off somewhere he recognised.

 This team made Hinata feel very nervous. He tried to keep his cool, look at ease, but his hands kept shaking and he trapped them between his knees under the table. They all looked so mature, and tall. He could not imagine having ever been a part of this team.

 Had he once had the same feelings being with them as he did being a part of Karasuno?

 Mostly he kept quiet. They talked a lot, more to each other than him. Kenma said the majority of them were new that  year, and hadn't known Hinata, and the ones that did had never been that close to him anyway.

 The teams didn't have to spend every day of their lives together like they did at the Crow's Allegiance. They had their own lives, their own families to go back to, they didn't bond in the same way because they didn't need to. Kenma said the only reason he and Hinata were so close was because they'd been school friends when they were younger. Kuroo had also known them from school, but he was older, so he hadn't associated with them much.

 'I really wish I remembered any of it.' Hinata had said as they were lead downstairs, where a mini bus was waiting for them.

 It was going to take about four hours to get there, one of the team told him. He'd forgotten their name. Their team was supposed to be on leave, it was their holiday period now, but they were willing to go back just to help Hinata out.

 'It might have been easier to have just left him up at the base near Sendai,' one of the group had said as they all loaded into the bus. Hinata took a seat near the back next to Kenma, who was still playing his game. He said he'd let Hinata try it too, but not for too long.

 'We didn't expect him to have no memories, though,' Kuroo said, strapping himself in. 'The General thought he'd want nothing more to do with the war and to just return to his family. What _have_ you told your family, shorty?'

 Hinata didn't answer this, which made Kuroo's sly smile return. He didn't comment either, he just grinned at Hinata for a little while before the engine revved and they began to move.

 The drive was fun for a short while, he liked looking at the view out the window, the city still fascinated him and when they set out into the countryside he was intrigued, but it soon wore off. There wasn't much to see here.

 He didn't understand Kenma's game at all and he kept screwing up and dying. Eventually, Kenma took it off him and said he didn't want to sit and watch Hinata fail to play it any longer.

 Talking to the rest of the team seemed out of the question too, as most of them had headphones in, listening to music, or had gone to sleep, despite it being early morning and they hadn't been awake that long.

 Instead, Hinata rested his head against the window and thought about what he was going to say when he got back to the base, how he would convince his team that they needed to run away with him. Would they turn against the only thing they've ever known? Hinata wouldn't have believed any of this if he hadn't been given proof, seen with his own eyes that life existed outside the wastelands and that there was a world waiting for them.

 Perhaps he should have brought some family photos along with him, that would have surely convinced them. He kicked himself for not thinking about that earlier. It was too late to go back now.

 After a while, he fell asleep and slept dreamlessly for the majority of the journey, only waking up when Kenma was shaking him. They were almost there.

 Wherever they were, there wasn't much here. Loads of old grey stone buildings and a lot of overgrown plants. 

 Stretching his limbs, Hinata followed the others off the bus and into one of the buildings, where he was greeted by other Nekoma members. They lead the group down a corridor that wasn't dissimilar to the ones at the Crow base, and into a room filled with Nekoma Mechs. 

 It felt so weird being up close and personal to one. He felt like he was trespassing, like a traitor. He knew he shouldn't think like that, because the Crow's were the bad ones, but he had learnt to despise Nekoma Mechs, to want to destroy them on first sight, so preparing to actually get in one felt odd to him.

 He'd already decided he wouldn't return to the war once he had gotten his team out. He didn't feel like he belonged here anymore. He didn't want to fight. He just wanted to live a happy, fulfilled life with his friends and not have to worry about dying.

 Of course he felt bad for the other Crow members he'd be leaving behind, but no one was going to believe him, they'd think he was a traitor and have him killed. His team would only be behind him because they would know he would never lie to them... wouldn't they?

 Stop doubting yourself, Hinata thought, they will be on your side. They have to be.

 Before getting into a Mech, which he'd be sharing with Kuroo and Kenma (which he really wasn't looking forward to, three in a Mech was really cramped), he had to change back into his old Crow jumpsuit. He didn't like having to put it back on. It felt too tight on him now, like it knew he had turned against the Allegiance.

 'Are we going to slap him up, or what?' Yamamoto asked. Everyone considered it for a moment.

 'I'd feel kinda bad about it. He's just a kid.'

 'No, it's fine.' Hinata stood his ground, fists clenched. 'Do it. I need them to believe me. They're not going to believe a story about me being tortured and starved when I looked fresh-faced and well-nourished.'

 'You have gained a little...' Kenma pointed out.

 'I'll say there were loads of rats to eat or something, it kept me going.'

 'It's your neck on the line, shorty.' Kuroo shrugged before punching him in the face. Hinata staggered backwards and someone grabbed hold of him, keeping him on his feet. His nose was bleeding. 'Well, that's a start.'

 'Bruises aren't going to show for another day,' one person said. 'Dried blood on his face might look convincing, but the bruises need to look at least a little older than a day-'

 'I'm covered in them, don't worry.' Hinata pointed to his chest. 'I've got loads from being bashed around in the Mech from last time, I'll say they came from you. They're fading to a greeny-yellow colour, though.'

 'You might get a nice one forming around your eye,' Kuroo grinned at him, massaging his knuckles. Hinata's left eye was throbbing from the impact of Kuroo's punch. 'I can do it again, just be to safe.'

 'At least your jumpsuit looks dirty enough.'

 'It's always look liked this.'

 'Oh. Do you not wash them?'  

 Yamamoto whined for a while about not being able to punch Hinata until Kuroo finally let him take a swing. He hit Hinata in the side of the face, making him wince and cup his cheek, and then began pounding his arm. 'Ow! Ow!'

 'I'm just making it convincing, kid!'

 'That's enough.' Kuroo put a hand on Yamamoto's shoulder. 'Get in the Mech, shorty.'

 Doing as he was told, Hinata climbed into the Mech and settled down in the middle, between the two seats. There was no seatbelt, so he would have to hold on to the sides of the seating. Kuroo and Kenma both got in, squashing him between them, and pulled the top down before strapping themselves in.

 They were both wearing their red-and-white uniforms, which, from up close, looked so much nicer than his own. Not just that they were clean, they were better fitted and were made of a strong mesh material, covered in a layer of thin metal. Obviously, they could afford much better clothing.

 'How's your nose?'

 'I think the bleeding has stopped.'

 'Don't wipe the blood away, let it dry. Maybe smear it a bit.'

 He watched as they started up their Mech, the control panel lighting up, looking a lot more advanced than the Crow's ones had been. Kuroo was the one who moved the Mech. Kenma had brought his game along again and was sat playing it, ignoring what was happening around him.

 They left the base and walked down a stone path, coming up to huge thirty-foot high gate, which connected to a fence that ran along in both directions as far as the eye could see. The top was covered in barbed wire and there was a warning sign on the fence, with a picture of a black stick man being electrocuted. This was the wall that surrounded the destroyed city of Sendai.

 None of them had ever ventured out far enough to see it, they'd never been allowed out that far, they had been told it was far too dangerous and they could risk losing their way and not being able to get back, alongside the high risk of being captured and killed by Nekoma or Aoba Johsai, but now he realised the real reason. They weren't allowed to see the wall.

 As they stomped forwards, Nekoma guards stood on either side of the gate signalled to them to stop. One man in a little booth waved at them a few moments later and the gate began to creak open.

 Back into the wastelands once more, Hinata felt a painful knot in his chest. This was it. He was going to infiltrate the Crow's Allegiance and rescue his friends.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late posting this because I took three naps today.  
> My life is falling apart.  
> This chapter was supposed to be longer but I've decided to cut it in half and now I'm back to 21 chapters again.


	14. Chapter 14

 Locking Kageyama up had been, in the General's words, 'for his own safety'.

 'I don't want to have to do this, Kageyama,' he had said, as Kageyama had been escorted by two guards to a padded cell, located somewhere within the depths of the Crow base. 'But I worry for your mental stability. Losing a second Mech partner must be difficult-'

 'He was taken by Nekoma! I haven't lost him!' Kageyama had shouted back, before throwing as many curse words that came to mind, which ended up getting him sedated again. When he came to, strapped to a bed in a cell with four white padded walls, he started to strain against the straps holding him down, the ones on his wrist cutting into him.

 It was Asahi who entered the room to deal with him. He did a motion with his hands, telling Kageyama he needed to calm down. 'Please, Kageyama. Calm down. They'll make me sedate you again, and I really don't want to have to do that.'

'Asahi, let me up. I'm fine. Seriously. Get me out of this thing!'

 'I'm really sorry, Kageyama,' Asahi looked so torn. His hands hovered over Kageyam's restraints but he didn't undo them. 'They're not going to let you out until they believe you aren't going to try and go after Hinata.'

 'I can't just leave him!'

 'None of us want to, but it'd be a suicide mission! You don't even know where Nekoma base is.'

 'I could find it. They have to let me try!' Kageyama kept struggling. 'Asahi, let me out!'

 Of course, Asahi didn't release him. He continued to try and tell Kageyama that there was nothing more they could do, and if Hinata had been taken as a hostage then it was more than likely Nekoma wanted to do a trade-off, so he should think positively and hopefully they'd get Hinata back in no time, but Kageyama wasn't having any of it.

 Hinata needed him. He wasn't going to just let him die in the hands of Nekoma. He vowed the moment they let him out of this stupid jail cell (a rehabilitation room, they had called it, but to Kageyama it was just a squishy prison) he would get in the first Mech could find and go storm Nekoma base. If he travelled far enough, he was sure to find it. They had to be somewhere. Maybe he could get in one of the many fallen Nekoma Mechs outside in the wasteland city, they wouldn't try and attack him then if he got too close.

 This meant he needed to behave if he wanted to be let out, but his anger kept getting the better of him. They let him out of restraints two days later - this cell had a window, reinforced so Kageyama couldn't smash it (he'd tried) - that had a view of a clock on the wall of the office outside. He had spent a lot of time lying there, staring at it, thinking his plan over and over in his head.

 They'd probably assumed he'd calmed down because of this, but the moment he was let up, he tried to attack one of the medical interns that brought him his food and they slammed the door shut in his face. He lobbed the food at the wall and spent hours shouting out the window, banging against the glass, before he eventually tired himself out and collapsed against the wall, his head in his knees.

 Eventually, the days started to lose all meaning, blending into one another. Despite having view of a clock, he didn't know whether it was four in the morning or at night, or if he had slept for a few hours or for a day. It was starting to drive him crazy.

 No one had been to see him, either. Noya and Tanaka had never visited. Asahi hadn't come back. He had never felt so alone in his life.

 Food was pushed through a little hole in the door. He'd been refusing to eat for a while, hoping they'd start to worry about his condition, but soon hunger got the better of him and he accepted what they gave him. It was starting to dawn on him that maybe they didn't care if he died in here.

 But then again, Kageyama had thought, chewing on the end of a plastic fork, if they didn't care if he died, why not let him at least try to go to Nekoma base?

 The General had spoken about 'mental stability' but locking some up in a room for an unknown amount of time with no form of social interaction was only going to make things worse. None of the psychiatrists came to visit him, no one came to try and persuade him otherwise, he was just left to rot with his own anger, at Nekoma and himself.

 They weren't even letting him shower, which he really hated. He disliked feeling dirty. He didn't even want to know what his hair felt like. The only thing they had given him, because he'd banged on the window and asked for it, was a toothbrush.

 Did the remainder of his team know what was happening to him? Did they even care? He was certain Noya and Tanaka would be furious if they found out Kageyama was being treated like this. Perhaps they hadn't been told. The General wouldn't want them storming down here to break Kageyama out.

 Asahi had only seen him on the first day, if he had told them anything, it would be that Kageyama was seriously angry and needed to be 'cared for' until he 'got better'. Those were the words he imaged Asahi using.  

 Just over two weeks later, although this passing of time was unknown to Kageyama, guards appeared to take him back to Area 12. He was sat in the very corner of the room, his arms wrapped around his knees, just staring into space with his eyes glazed over. He didn't feel angry anymore, all the rage had left him and depression had started to take over.

 He missed Hinata.

 Kageyama allowed the guards to pull him to his feet and handcuff his hands behind his back. They told him where he was going and why. There were new recruits that were going to be joining their team in a couple of days, once their memories had been modified, and Kageyama was going to be needed. He needed to reassure his team that he was still fit to fight alongside them and the General had promised he'd be allowed to choose whichever new Cadet he liked as his partner.

 Before being taken back to Area 12, however, he was forced to shower. They gave him clean clothes to change into. It was apparent to Kageyama that they wanted to make it look like he had been well looked after while 'under care'.

 He didn't complain about it. Having a shower had never felt this good. He hadn't been pleased about being told to get out after ten minutes, but he didn't argue and got dried and changed as quickly as he could before they slapped the handcuffs back on.

 The training room in Area 12 was eerily quiet. The Mechs were all stood motionless against a wall, his own in the middle. He wanted nothing more than to break free of these guards and jump into the Mech and go but he knew it was impossible, so he turned away from it and walked towards the meeting room.

 Captain Takeda, Major Ukai, Noya, Tanaka and Asahi were sat inside, talking quietly. They all looked up as Kageyama entered. No one said a word until the guards had handcuffed Kageyama to one of the seats and left.

 He glared at the cuff around his wrist and rattled it before turning back to the others. 'Can anyone lock pick?'

 'We're glad to have you back, Kageyama.' Takeda smiled warmly at him. Kageyama raised an eyebrow.

 'Really? Because none of you seemed to miss me.'

 'I'm really sorry, Kageyama!' Asahi said, looking guilty. 'General Ukai said we weren't allowed to visit you.'

 'He said you needed time with the psychiatrists-'

 'He lied.' Kageyama cut Tanaka off. He looked taken back. 'I didn't speak with any psychiatrists. I didn't speak with _anyone_. They kept me locked in a cell for - how long has it been?'

 'Two weeks.' Ukai replied.

 'Two weeks!' Kageyama repeated, anger stabbing at his chest. Hinata had been missing for two weeks and he hadn't been able to do anything about it. 'They didn't even let me shower. Don't you dare sit there and tell me that they did it for my mental stability or health or whatever bullshit you were fed. They're treating me like a prisoner!'

 He pulled at the handcuff again, as if to prove his point.

 'Kags, I swear, if I had known-' Tanaka began but Kageyama cut him off for a second time.

 'Forget about it. What's been going on here? Have you had any news on Daichi or Tsukishima? Anything about  Hinata?'

 Noya shook his head. He was sitting back in his chair with his feet up on the table. 'Nothing. We couldn't even find their Mech. They've completely vanished.'

 'Kidnapped?'

 'I have no idea. We're not being told anything, even Ukai is being kept in the dark.' Noya shrugged and looked over at Ukai, who was lighting a cigarette. 'We haven't been allowed out on any missions either. They said me and Tanaka have to wait for new recruits, start building up a team again. I've been made Lieutenant.'

No wonder he had his feet on the table. No one could tell him off for it anymore. Kageyama still felt angry. 'Why are you so laid back?! Daichi, Tsukishima and Hinata are _missing_ and you're acting like they just went on holiday! If we worked together, we could go and rescue them!'

 'Kageyama,' Ukai sighed, blowing smoke through his nose. 'We can't do anything about it, we have no idea where Nekoma base is. Do you even realise how big the city out there is? None of our men have ever made it further than the middle. We can't cross over into enemy territory, they're heavily defended. If we're assuming Hinata and the other two are still alive-' ('They are!' Kageyama snapped) '-then all we can do is hope for Nekoma to contact us and tell us they want to swap hostages. We have plenty of their men.'

 If he wasn't stuck to this chair, Kageyama would have picked it up and thrown it at Ukai. He didn't care how many Mechs Nekoma had, or how strong their defences were, all he wanted to do was help Hinata, even if it meant dying for him.

 'I'm not working with any new recruits.' Kageyama said flatly. Ukai closed his eyes.

 'You'll be sent back to rehabilitation. Do you really want that?'

 'Prison. It's prison.' Kageyama corrected him. 'No, I don't want that.'

 'If you get a new partner, it means you can start fighting again. You can destroy as many Nekoma Mechs that you can get your hands on.' Tanaka said, cracking his knuckles. 'I can't wait. I've been so bored stuck in this stupid base.'

 Captain Takeda placed several files on the table. 'These are all the new recruits we'll be getting. There are eleven in total. You are welcome to look through them and pick who you'd like to partner with, but it'd probably be better to wait until they arrive because we are going to have to assess everyone's skill level and it'd be better to pair you up with someone who can move a Mech as well as Hinata did.'

 'Good luck with that.' Tanaka snorted, grabbing a file and pulling it towards him. He opened it, let out a groan and pushed it to one side. He did this a couple more times until he let out a cry and jumped to his feet. 'We're getting a girl! An actual girl!'

Noya was immediately by his side, stood on the table, looking at the file. He fell to his knees, head in his hands. 'I have waited for this day my entire life. Thank you, thank you.'

 He was looking up at the sky, as though addressing some mystical force above him.

 'She is so cute! Look at her!' Tanaka shoved the file in Kageyama's face. He swatted it away with his free hand. 'Hitoka Yachi. I'm going to be the best mentor-'

'Why do you get to be her mentor? I'm the Lieutenant now!' Noya snatched the file off of Tanaka.

 'I'm Second! I still get a share!' He started wrestling with Noya over the file, making half the pages spill out onto the floor. Asahi just looked at them, defeated, while Ukai rubbed at his eyes and sighed.

 If Daichi were here, he'd have put a stop to this, Kageyama thought, sliding down in his chair. His body felt exhausted, despite having done very little for the past two weeks. He needed to get up and stretch his legs.

 He was considering just dragging the chair along behind him, or at least carrying it, since it wasn't bolted down, when a loud bang made them all freeze.

 'What was that?' Noya asked, his legs wrapped around Tanaka's torso from the back. He slipped down onto the floor. 'Did something fall over?'

_Bang!_

 The others jumped to their feet. Kageyama was the only one who remained seated, staring out of the meeting room door.

 'It's got to be coming from somewhere else,' Ukai said as he walked out into the training area. The others followed him. Kageyama grumbled and picked up the chair, walking out after them, feeling ridiculous.

  _BANG!_

 Everyone jumped. It was coming from outside.

 Someone was banging on the metal exit door.

 'Is... is someone trying to get in?' Noya asked, peering around Tanaka, who had his arms up, ready to fight.

 'I'll take them.'

 Another bang made them take a step back.

 'It definitely sounds like someone is pounding on the door.' Takeda said, wiping his glasses on his shirt. He looked very nervous. He turned to Ukai. 'S-should I open it?'

 'Yeah.' Ukai nodded and Takeda ran into the control room. 'You two, come with me. Get a gun.'

 There was a metal cabinet at one side of the room which held many various types of guns, from little pistols to huge rifles, but only Ukai had the key and they were rarely allowed to use them. The only time Kageyama had held one was back when he was a Cadet and they were training him to shoot with one- they were there in case the base was invaded and they needed to defend themselves. Kageyama had pointed out it was pointless if none of them had access to it but he'd been told someone had killed themselves with one once so they had to be locked away.

 Equipped with a gun each, Tanaka and Noya both going for huge shotguns, they approached the door and Ukai shouted to Takeda to open the gate halfway. Kageyama stood back, still holding his chair, watching, with Asahi stood behind him.

 'Don't shoot them straight away,' Kageyama shouted. 'If it's Nekoma or Aoba Johsai, we might be able to use them for a trade off.'

 Slowly, the door rattled and began to move upwards and the three of them took a stance. The harsh yellow light from the sun crept in and Kageyama shielded his eyes. A dark figure appeared, silhouetted against the light, and walked towards them, unfazed by the three guns pointed at their head.

 Ukai, Tanaka and Noya all let out a gasp and the guns clattered down at their feet.

 Hinata had just walked into the base.

 Kageyama dropped the chair.

 It landed on his foot.

Howling in pain, he hopped on one leg for a moment until the pain died down. He turned his attention back to Hinata, who was being badgered by the other three, Noya and Tanaka both squishing him between them. Asahi had also ran over.

 Although wanting to run over a join them, Kageyama found himself rooted to the spot, just staring across the room. Hinata had come back to him and he should feel happy about that, over the moon in fact, but for some reason he felt a little disappointed. Not in Hinata's return, but in himself.

 He'd had this whole image in his head of going to rescue Hinata and being a hero, not that he wanted the recognition from the Crows, but he'd wanted Hinata to know that Kageyama would always be there for him, he'd always come back from him, regardless the consequences. Had Hinata thought Kageyama had just abandoned him or forgotten about him?

 This feeling soon vanished when he noticed Hinata's face was covered in blood. He strode towards Hinata, not caring that the chair was dragging nosily behind him, and grabbed his face. 'Who the hell did this to you?!'

 Hinata didn't answer him. His eyes lit up and a huge smile spread across his face and the next thing Kageyama knew, Hinata had knocked him to the floor and was hugging him tightly, his face buried in his chest.

 'I'm so, so, so happy to see you!' Hinata cried, getting blood on Kageyama's shirt. 'I've missed you so much!'

 'What the hell happened to you, Hinata? How did you escape?' Ukai asked. Hinata jumped to his feet, looking excited. He helped Kageyama up and frowned at the chair he was handcuffed to.

 'Don't ask.' Kageyama sighed. 'Just tell us exactly what happened.'

 'Uh, let's go in the meeting room.' Hinata took hold of Kageyama's wrist. 'I need to speak to you in private.'

 'What can you tell Kageyama that you can't tell us, huh?' Tanaka frowned.

 'I'll talk to you in a minute, I swear, I just really need to speak to Kageyama first. Alone.'

 Before anyone could say anything, Hinata had dragged Kageyama towards the meeting room. The chair had gotten stuck in the a hole in the floor and Kageyama had almost tripped over, which Tanaka and Noya had found hilarious, and he'd picked up the chair once more, following Hinata.

 'You need to tell me what's going on, right now.' Kageyama demanded as Hinata shut the door. 'How did you escape?'

 Hinata put his finger to his lips and stood in silence for a few minutes, before pulling open the door again. Noya and Tanaka toppled into the room. Startled, they both scrambled their feet, looking embarrassed and ran away without a word. He shut the door again and took a seat next to Kageyama, close enough so he could whisper.

 'I want to talk to you about it before I tell the others, I need your opinion on whether we can trust them.' Hinata said. Kageyama nodded. Hinata drew in a breath. 'Everything is a lie.'

 'What?'

 'The Crow's Allegiance, it's one big lie. The war has only been going on for twenty-three years and it's the Crow's who started it. The world isn't destroyed, only the city of Sendai. I've seen it Kageyama, there's a huge city out there called Tokyo and that's where Nekoma took me. My family is there.'

 'What are you going on about, Hinata. Did they brainwash you?'

 'No, please listen to me, I swear I'm telling the truth!' 

 Kageyama listened intently as Hinata explained everything that had happened to him, how Nekoma had recognised his Quick and taken him back, thinking that the Crow's had just been threatening him to make him fight for them, how he had once been a Nekoma soldier and it had been Kageyama himself who had fought against him and brought him down.

 He talked about how he'd been reunited with his family- a mother and a sister- and they lived in a small house together in a city named Tokyo, which was located in a country called Japan, and how the Crow's wanted power and were kidnapping people and removing their memories and feeding them lies about the outside world so they'd think the only left thing for them was to fight.

 'I swear it's all true, I saw it. You've got to believe me!' Hinata said, gripping Kageyama's shirt.

 'You're covered in blood! It looks like you were beaten up! How can I believe this when you're hurt!' Kageyama couldn't quite take in anything Hinata was saying. It couldn't be true. Nekoma must have done something to him and then sent him back to try and cause a riot within the base itself. They must want him to start a rebellion.

 'I told them to! I have to pretend to the General that they were keeping me prisoner, that they tried to get information out of me but I wouldn't give them anything and I escaped and made my way back here. I was in a Nekoma Mech fifteen minutes ago, they dropped me off close to the base and I ran back here.'

 'If what you're saying is true, even though it sounds like they've been messing with your head to me, then why would you come back to this? Why would you not stay in your house with your family and live out the rest of your life? I'm going to kill Nekoma, they've done this to you-'

 'No, Kageyama, please, listen to me. I came back to rescue you.'

 'What?'

 Hinata was pleading now, his eyes really big. 'I came up with a plan, Nekoma didn't want me to come back at all, but I said I could get inside the base and get information about the Crows and then you, me,  and the others could all escape together. Nekoma would provide us with Mechs to change into and we'd head to the border of the city and get out of here, together. I couldn't live knowing you were still here.'

 'I- I don't-' Kageyama stammered. He didn't know what to believe. He couldn't quite accept that everything he'd ever known had been one big lie to make him fight, that the Crow's were really the bad guys, but how could he completely dismiss Hinata, who had never lied to him once while they were partners.

 'I could make you believe me, if you took a Mech and followed me out to the very edge of the city. It's all blocked off, there's a huge wall that runs all the way round, to stop the Crow's from getting out. Why do you think they never let us go near the edge of the city? They tell us that it's because Nekoma and Aoba Johsai will attack us, that their base is there, but it's all a lie! I can prove it to you, I swear.'

 He kept talking, telling Kageyama what his family looked like and what his house looked like, all the food he'd eaten and what the city looked like and how people had the choice to join up to fight in the war or not. He reminded Kageyama about the poem the old man had said, and how it all made sense now.

 'Why are you handcuffed to a chair, by the way?' Hinata stopped mid-sentence and peered at Kageyama's hand.

 'They locked me up to stop me from trying to go after you.'

 'See! It makes sense! They didn't want you to try and find Nekoma base because it meant you'd end up seeing the wall!'

 Hinata continued on to tell him how it didn't make any sense that the war had been going on for hundreds of years, because there was no way there would be any survivors left in the city by that point.

 'Tanaka and his sister were both part of Nekoma once! They were kidnapped together! I saw the list! I asked about you and Noya but they don't know, because some of the people are taken from nearby towns or villages.'

 Everything made sense, Kageyama couldn't deny that. He had to trust what Hinata was telling him. If the two of them set out to find the edge of the city, this wall he spoke of, then that could easily prove it and it meant the two of them could leave this place and start a life together, safe and without the fear of losing the other. If Hinata was brainwashed and there was no wall, then he would storm Nekoma base and kill every last son of a bitch who had hurt his friend.

 'I believe you.'

 'You do?!' Hinata beamed, hugging Kageyama. 'I knew you would!'

 'Are you going to tell the others?'

 'Do you think they'll believe me?'

 'You won't know until you try.'

 However, the others didn't take to his story quite so much. Tanaka and Noya both made a lot of faces as Hinata spoke, Takeda and Asahi both looked completely shocked and Ukai said nothing, he just smoked cigarette after cigarette until Hinata had finished speaking. A long silence followed.

 'The fuck have those Nekoma bastards done to you! I'm going to kill them!' Tanaka raged, slamming his fist on the table. 'Look at your face!'

 'I asked them to beat me up! I need to be able to convince the General that I ran away and they were hurting me, but I swear, everything I'm telling you is true. Escape with me, come to the wall, you'll see for yourself!'

 'But that would mean every person we killed was innocent.' Asahi said in despair. Noya opened his mouth to say something, but shut it soon after, glaring at the tabletop.

 'Are you sure they haven't done something to you, Hinata?' Takeda asked, pushing up his glasses. He looked concerned.

 'No! I'm telling the truth! Ahh! I wish I'd brought a family photo along, that would have proved it! You should see my baby sister, she's so cute-'

 Ukai had gotten to his feet. He stubbed out his cigarette and headed to the door. Everyone's eyes followed him as he walked. He stopped just before leaving. 'I'm going to tell my old man you've returned.'

 'Please, please, don't tell him what I've told you. It could get us all in serious trouble.'

 'You'd better come up with a good enough story for him. I'm keeping my mouth shut.'

 'Does that mean you believe me?'

 However, Major Ukai had already left. Kageyama wondered what he was thinking. It was his own grandfather he'd be siding against if he believed Hinata's story. He knew Ukai was a reasonable man, and he could make his own decisions, but going against everything you've ever known was hard enough, let alone when it involved family.

 'I'm really not sure.' Asahi chewed his thumbnail.

 'What drugs are you on, Hinata? If that's the kind of life you imagine, I want in.' Tanaka said, picking at his teeth. 

 'You don't believe me?' Hinata looked so upset. Kageyama sighed and shuffled forwards in his chair. He placed one of his hands over Hinata's.

 'Guys, listen, whether you believe Hinata or not, we've got to trust him. What if he's telling the truth and he can prove it? Can you really happily sit back and keep living this life, knowing you're fighting for nothing and there's more out there.'

 'There's a lot of pretty girls...' Hinata pointed out, making Tanaka and Noya twist their heads towards him in unison.

 'We're listening...'

 'Hinata says there's a wall around the city, right? So once we get clearance to go out another mission, we can just head to the edge and look. If there's no wall, Hinata's been brainwashed and we'll go kick the crap out of Nekoma, if  there is, he's telling the truth and it means we have a chance to escape and start better lives. I don't want to spend my life fighting if I know there's no point.'

 'On a scale of one to ten, just how hot are these girls?' Tanaka leant on the table, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers. Noya had sat up straighter too, both staring at Hinata intently. Hinata looked panicked.

 'I don't know! They range in all ages! There are a lot of them!'

 'Hmmm, this is interesting.' He turned to Noya, who was nodding. 'If there are hot girls out there, we've got to see them.'

 'Please don't let that be your only motivation.' Asahi sighed. Takeda was laughing behind his hand before moving over and peering around the door.

 'I'll tell you when the General is coming. Try and look upset.'

 'Let's make him cry!' Tanaka said gleefully and got to his feet but Asahi grabbed his shirt and pulled him back down again. 'We've got to make it look authentic.'

 'We don't need to hurt him. Just think of something really, really sad,' Asahi instructed Hinata, as though he were the chief expert on crying. 'I would recommend some stuff that would make you cry but it might set me off.'

 Takeda jumped so suddenly he startled everyone else. He ran around to sit next to Hinata and made him put his head in his hands. 'The General is coming. Act worn out or upset or something.'

 General Ukai came into the meeting room and stopped at the sight of Hinata. His grandson was hovering behind him. 'I want all of you to clear the room. I wish to speak to Hinata alone.'

 'Could you undo this cuff?' Kageyama lifted his arm. 'I'm kind of stuck to this chair.'

 The General considered it for a moment before saying no. Kageyama felt quite offended by this but said nothing to retaliation. Instead, the General changed his mind and asked Hinata to follow him to his office instead.

 'It's ok Hinata,' Tanaka growled as Hinata got to his feet, rubbing at his eyes and trying to look as sad as possible, which Kageyama thought he was overdoing a little bit. 'We'll get those dirty Nekoma bastards for what they've done to you. I'll crush them into a pulp.'

 Hinata and the General left. Ukai came back into the room and shut the door. 'We've got to hope Hinata gives him a convincing enough story. My old man is pretty sharp witted.'

 'So, you believe him?' Kageyama asked. Ukai sighed and took a seat, pulling out his cigarette pack. On discovering it was empty, Ukai grumbled and crunched it up. He tossed it at the corner.

 'I'm just going to see how things play out. I can't make any decisions just yet. I suggest you all keep your mouth shut and if the General asks, we all tell him that Hinata barely spoke to us, he was too upset about what had happened and he just said Nekoma had tortured him for information. Don't make it overly complicated, or he'll suspect we're lying, especially if we all give a different story.'

 'You think he'd do something to Hinata?' Kageyama pulled at the handcuff. Even suspecting the General Ukai could turn against Hinata made him want to go and get him as far away from him as possible. He didn't trust the General at all. 'Ukai! Answer me! We can't let Hinata go with him if-'

 'What else are we supposed to do? We can't just turn against _the General._ We'd be executed as traitors.'

 'He'd kill his own grandson!?' Asahi gasped. Ukai pulled a face.

 'Dunno. Maybe. He's always put work before me, even after my parents died.' He groaned and scratched at his neck. 'I'm sure if Hinata shows that he is willing to rejoin the fight and wants to bring down Nekoma, they'll let him. I don't see why they wouldn't. Hinata's a good fighter, he's valuable.'

 The meeting room door cracked open a little bit and everyone fell deadly silent, eyeing each other. Had someone been listening to their conversation?

 Tanaka got to his feet and wrenched the door fully open. There was a small feminine gasp and Tanaka jumped backwards like he'd just received an electric shock. Kiyoko was stood on the other side of the door, pink-cheeked.

  'Kiyoko! What are you doing here? Have you come to see me, because I'm totally up for a date tonight-'

 'Do you know Hinata is with the General?' She said in a small voice, coming into the room. Tanaka went to hug her but she stepped away from him and he crashed into the door frame. Ukai nodded.

 'Yes, why?'

 'Oh, well, maybe it's alright then.'

 'What's alright? What did you see?' Kageyama was standing. She fiddled with her glasses. 

 'Uh... well... He was covered in blood...'

 'Yeah, he came back like that. Oh, Kiyoko, I wish you'd worry about me when I was injured-'

  Kiyoko pushed Tanaka away from her again. He wasn't getting the message that she just wasn't interested and it was starting to annoy Kageyama. He reached over and grabbed Tanaka by the scruff of his shirt and pushed him into an empty seat. 'Let her speak.'

  'I was worried, so I followed them and well, I saw them put a bag over his head and handcuff him. I came here as fast as I could. They said he's a traitor.'

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh I don't like missing a day! I was really dizzy last night I couldn't even focus, so this chapter took longer than I'd hoped.


	15. Chapter 15

 It was Major Ukai that Kageyama rounded on, his fists clenched, the chair he was stuck to clattering along the floor. Ukai got to his feet, standing much taller and broader than Kageyama, not that he let this bother him. 'What did you tell him?! Did you sell Hinata out?'

 'No, I didn't. Calm down, please. I will go find out what's going on. Stay here. Don't go getting yourself into trouble. Takeda, come with me.' The two of them ran out of the room together and Kiyoko went with them. Everyone else stared at each other in silence.

 'Shit.' Tanaka said. 'What do we do?'

 'The first thing you can do is find something to get me out of this fucking handcuff.' Kageyama picked the chair up and slammed it on the table. 'Break the arm off, cut the chain, I don't care, I need to go find Hinata and I can't be dragging a chair around with me.'

 'There's a saw in the tool box! I'll get it!' Noya jumped off the table and ran out of the room, returning moments later with a hand saw. He and Tanaka squabbled for a second about who would get to do it before Kageyama threatened to hurt both of them if they didn't hurry up and Noya began to saw at the handcuff chain, which was quite thin and rusted so the blade cut through it quite easily.

 Once Kageyama was free, still with a handcuff bracelet on his wrist, he turned to the remaining three in the room. 'We need to figure out what happened to Hinata.'

 'If they took him, does that mean his story is true?' Asahi asked, and Kageyama nodded.

 'It's more than likely. Remember, we stick to our story that Hinata told us nothing, or we'll end up in the same situation if they think we know the truth. Noya, since you're the Lieutenant now, you should be able to get more places in the base that are off limits, maybe get into the General's office and see if you can find any clues. Tanaka, you can go with him. Asahi, you have access to the prison area, do you have rounds in there today?'

 'Not that I know of, but I can swap shifts with someone if you want me to look if Hinata is in there. Do you think that's where they'd take him?'

 'I don't know, but we've got to have a look. Is there any where else we could check?'

 'Oh, there's a restricted area, on the west side of the base, you'll have to go to Area 1 and it's down the right hand corridor just past that,' Asahi told him, digging into his pocket and pulling out a set of silver keys. He went through them for a moment before pulling one off and handing it to Kageyama. 'This won't get you all the way, just past the main door - there's a medical supply closet I'm allowed access to, but there's a huge yellow door behind that with a big 'keep out' sign. I've always wondered what was behind it, but that could be where they're keeping him.'

 'It's worth a shot. If it's restricted, it's probably because they're hiding something. We might be able to find out more truth about this story of Hinata's. Right, ok, come on, let's head out.' The four of them walked into the main training room and skidded to a halt. Kageyama jammed the key into his pocket. The General had just entered their Area, looking very serious. At the sight of him, the four of them lined up and saluted.

 'Glad to see you're up and about soldiers, ready to start a day of training?' He smiled at them. It wasn't a friendly smile.

 'Yes, Sir.' Kageyama kept his hand with the handcuff on behind his back. 'I was just about go fetch my partner. Have you finished speaking with him?'

 'Have you had a chance to look over those files I provided you with?' The General asked, straightening out one of the many badges on his blazer. 'It'd be helpful to me if you chose sooner rather than later, so we can file the paperwork.'

 'Sir, I already have a partner.' Kageyama could fell the other three's eyes burning into the back of his head, wondering what the hell he was doing, but he was trying to see what the General would say. 'Now that Hinata has returned, we will be able to fight again. We sync perfectly and his Quick is an essential part of our attack style. I know he's upset about being captured by Nekoma, but I'm sure now that he's back with his family-'

 'Hinata won't be necessary. You'll pick a new partner, today.' The General ordered firmly. Kageyama frowned.

 'What do you mean, Hinata isn't necessary?'

 'He won't be necessary to your team anymore. You will get new recruits shortly, please be patient.'

 'Where is he?' Kageyama was starting to let his anger get the better of him. He felt a hand grab the back of his shirt, as though warning him to be careful. 'Hinata is my partner! I want to work with him.'

 'I'm afraid he's been relieved of duty. The trauma was too much for him to cope with and we don't advise he return to piloting a Mech again. You will pick a new partner.'

 'Will he go to Medical?' Asahi said in a small voice. The General shook his head.

 'I'm afraid not. He's too young. He's in the rehabilitation centre for now, he needs time and therapy before we can find a suitable position for him-'

 'Bullshit!' Kageyama stepped towards the General, who titled his head to one side to observe Kageyama, a menacing look on his old wrinkled face. 'Tell me where he is!'

 'Ah! Ah! Kageyama, you need to calm down,' Asahi had jumped forwards and pulled Kageyama back at the elbow. He began patting him on the shoulder, fake smiling and giving him a look that said 'shut-up!'. 'Terribly sorry Sir, he's just upset about having lost Hinata once. He just wants his partner back, they're best friends after all. Hinata will be just fine in the rehabilitation centre, it's the best place for him. The Mechs would only upset him. I know how he feels.'

 'Listen to Azumane, Private. He knows what Hinata is going through. I have things I need to tend to so I recommend you all get back to training. Azumane, you're needed in Medical.' The General gave them all one last, narrow-eyed look before turning on his heel and leaving the Area. After five minutes had passed, when he was sure the General wasn't going to spring back into the room, Kageyama wrenched himself from Asahi's grip and swung to face him.

 'What do you think you're doing?! Don't you care about Hinata?'

 Immediately, Kageyama felt terrible about shouting. The way Asahi was looking at him it was like he'd just kicked a puppy. 'I was protecting you.'

 'Yeah, Kags, Asahi was clever to do that. You were really losing your cool.' Tanaka hit Asahi gently on the shoulder. 'If you'd started a screaming match with the General, he'd have dragged you off too. If we wanna find Hinata, we've got to act like we don't suspect anything.'

 'Fine! Fine! I'm sorry, Asahi.' Kageyama didn't stutter to apologise. He didn't have time to be embarrassed, Hinata's life could be on the line. 'Let's split up, go search for some clues-'

 'Mystery hunters!' Noya pumped his fists in the air and Kageyama smacked him around the back of the head.

 'This is serious!'

 'You're seriously grumpy,' Noya muttered under his breath. Kageyama heard him but didn't retaliate.

 'We'll meet back in the cafeteria in two hours, that'll be lunch.'

 'Why not here? Wouldn't it be suspicious if we're sat talking about Hinata in the cafeteria?' Asahi pointed out. Kageyama shook his head.

 'We need to look like we're following our normal schedules. The General might ask people to keep an eye on us. If we skip lunch, someone might notice and come looking for us and we don't want to get caught doing something we're not supposed to be doing. We won't use his name, either, we'll use a code name. Something inconspicuous.'

 'I call dibs on Hunkatron!' Noya waved his hand in the air. Tanaka let out a moan.

 'Ah man, that's so cool. Can I be ChickMagnet?'

 Kageyama let out an exasperated groan. 'We don't need them for ourselves, you dumbasses. Just so we can talk about Hinata without drawing attention.'

 'Eagle One.' Noya suggested and Tanaka nodded beside him like it was a genius idea. Kageyama pressed his fingers into his eyes. He was going to lose his patience any moment.

 'Why on earth would we be talking about eagles? You've never even seen a bird!'

 'I saw a pigeon once! It was dead, but...'

 'What would you go for then, huh?' Tanaka questioned. Kageyama thought about it for a moment.

 'I usually call him Shrimpy... but that probably wouldn't work.'

 'What about Cinnamon Bun. He's small and sweet. We had some given the Medical staff last week, they were delicious.'

 'Why don't they serve those at dinner?!' Tanaka demanded, squaring up to Asahi like he'd been purposely hiding cinnamon buns from him. Asahi backed away, holding his hands up. Tanaka was hoisted back as Kageyama reached over and grabbed him by his collar.

 'Focus! Please! We're wasting time! What about just calling him...' Kageyama's eyes scanned the room, before falling on the table Suga had once sat at. The pocket watch was still on there. 'Call him Suga's pocket watch. Act like we've lost it, so when we talk about it, we can say 'have you seen Suga's watch?'.'

 'Great idea!' Noya bounced over to the table and grabbed the watch. He put it on and tucked it underneath his shirt, hidden from view. 'Just in case anyone comes in here and sees it on the table. Got to have a legitimate story.'

 'What if someone sees you're wearing it?' Asahi asked. You couldn't see the watch underneath Noya's shirt, but someone could spot the chain around his neck. Noya shrugged.

 'Then I'll act like I was an idiot and forgot I was wearing it and you can all be super mad at me about it.'

 Kageyama clapped his hands together. 'Right, ok, that's settled. Let's get down to business. Asahi, see if you can get into the prison area, find out where they're keeping Hinata.'

 'I'll ask some Nurses, they're usually full of gossip.' He nodded and ran out of the room.

 'Are you two confident you can break into the General's office without being seen?'

 'YEAH!' They both said excitedly and Tanaka lifted Noya up over his head. 'Let's go!'

 'Look for anything relating to Hinata, our team or this whole war in general!' He shouted after them as Tanaka jogged out of the room, hurling Noya out of the door. Noya cartwheeled away.

 Kageyama was unable to comprehend how those two could always act so cheerful and positive.

 Praying the others would be able to find something and wouldn't get themselves in any sort of trouble, although he wouldn't put it past Noya and Tanaka to be able to lie their way out of any situation, he fished the key that Asahi had given him out of his pocket and made his way out of Area 12 and headed towards the west side of the base.

 Everything Hinata said had to be true, otherwise there'd be no reason the General would have him taken away. He was so mad at himself for ever believing any of this bullshit. He should have figured it out, he'd always thought things didn't make sense but he'd never thought to question it, because why would he? He'd seen the wrecked city and fought against Nekoma and Aoba Johsai and Dateko, all of whom were trying to kill him, and that was all he knew of life. How was he to have known there was more out there, having never been given any proof before now?

 What had his life been back before all of this, then? Had he worked for one of the other teams like Hinata. He had almost killed Hinata, too. He'd felt utterly disgusted with himself when he'd heard about that. He felt disgusted that he'd killed so many people who didn't deserve it, but he shouldn't blame himself. He was just following orders. Doing what he thought was right. It was this corrupt Allegiance that was to blame for everything.

 Did he have a family? He couldn't picture having a mother or a father or siblings. A normal life in a house in some extravagant city.

 Where would he go when he got out? Would Hinata let him stay with him? He hoped so. There was no way Hinata would turn his back on Kageyama.

 He was also glad Hinata hadn't acted weird around him after Kageyama had kissed him before they'd been torn apart from each other. He was kicking himself now, wondering if Hinata even cared about him in that way or if he'd been thinking about it like Kageyama had. He'd played the moment over and over in his head until it drove him mad, back in confinement, and he got mad at himself for not doing it earlier, not telling Hinata exactly how he felt. Now Hinata was back, he could do it properly.

 But first, they needed to get out. Once they were safely away from this base and this city and away from the war, then he'd tell him. If Hinata turned around and said he didn't feel the same way, then they could still be friends, surely?

  _Stop thinking about these things now!_ Kageyama snapped at himself, running down corridor after corridor, slowing down whenever he passed someone and trying to act nonchalant, muttering to himself about losing the watch and retracing his footsteps.

 Area 1 was where Saeko worked. She spotted him passing by the door and came to chat, which was really frustrating for Kageyama because he didn't want to be rude and blow her off, because he was quite scared of her- she was even more hot-headed than her brother, and he didn't want her to suspect anything.

 Twenty minutes passed before he could finally get rid of her, as someone called her back into the office. She'd talked non-stop about how upset she was that Hinata had been taken and she was destroying every last Nekoma bastard that she came across and she would happily let Kageyama join their team, along with Tanaka and Noya, since only the three of them wasn't really big enough, but was thrilled to hear they'd be getting new recruits and told him that he needed to watch over Ryunosuke because she wasn't really sure he was ready to be Second Lieutenant. 'I don't want the power going to his head, ya' know?'

 Running off before Saeko come back and bother him, he took the corridor Asahi had told him too, once he'd checked it was all clear, and made his way to the door at the very end, which said 'Authorized Personal Only' on it.

 The key slotted in and turned without an issue and he slipped inside, finding himself in a small box room, with a huge yellow door opposite that said 'Restricted Access' and a little utility closet to his left.

 Perhaps he should have asked Asahi how on earth people got inside. There wasn't a keyhole or any buttons to press. Just a blank stone wall on either side of the door.

 He ran his hands over it, and luckily, he found a hidden panel that blended in so well with the grey wall that you could only see it if you had your eyes right up the concrete. He pressed it and a small section of the wall slid down, revealing a panel with numbers and a green screen that was flashing 'Password Required' at him.

 At first, he was irritated because there was no way he'd be able to guess a four digit code from god-knows how many possible choices, but when he studied the buttons close enough, he noticed that four of them were slightly worn away. The silver paint had started to peel and greasy fingerprints had faded the colour.

 'One... Seven... Three... Two...'

 Access denied.

 'Fuck... uh, One... Three... Seven... Two.'

 Access denied.

 Kageyama bit his lip. How many attempts would he have before he set off some kind of alarm? The little screen wasn't telling him anything.

 'One... Three... Two... Seven...'

 Access granted.

 Kageyama threw his fist in the air in triumph. That had been extremely lucky. He hoped his luck would continue once he was inside.

 The door slid open soundlessly and Kageyama ducked down underneath it when it was half way up, too impatient to wait any longer.

 It lead to a long, bleak-looking corridor, very similar to all the others in the base, except lined with at least twenty or so doors on each side. He tried to keep his footsteps as quiet as possible as he made his way down, wondering if anyone was in these rooms and what he would do if someone just walked out now.

 He had no excuse for being in there. Perhaps he would just have to run.

 For a moment, he considered checking out the room to his left, which he couldn't see into because all the doors were solid metal, but it was the set of blue double doors at the very end of the corridor that got his attention. There were windows in the door and he could see a plastic sheet and a weird green glow through it.

 With a quick glance behind him, he hurried down the corridor and pushed open the door, hitting the plastic sheet. He pushed it out of his way and stepped onto a metal staircase, which overlooked a huge room lined with rows and rows of metal beds.

 Kageyama covered his mouth to stifle a gasp, scared he'd be overheard, but it appeared as though all the occupants of this room were asleep, or sedated at least. There were hundreds of them, arranged in rows, hooked up to strange looking computers with IV drips in their arms and wires running all over them. There was a soft green glow coming from each computer screen and a faint beeping noise, signalling each person's steady heartbeat.

 Feeling absolutely terrified, praying none of these people would wake up, he gingerly descended the stairs, wincing whenever the metal made any sort of noise, and was glad when he reached solid ground.

 There wasn't much else interesting about this room, the walls were all bare, the ceiling was covered in pipes and the only other door was another solid metal one at the opposite end. He decided that would be his best option to head towards, but he found himself wandering between each aisle, staring at each slumbering person.

 Whatever the machines were that were attached to these people, they made no sense to him. He didn't dare touch one, in case something happened. 

 Unsure why he was doing this, he leaned over the person closest to him, a boy no older than twelve, and prodded him gently in the arm. He didn't move. Kageyama tried whispering to him instead. 'Can you hear me?'

 Still no response.

 That's when a banging from overheard startled him and he ducked down, hiding behind the bed. The door he'd just came through opened and two people entered. He could hear them talking.

 Peering around the edge of the bed, he took his chance and dashed across the room, keeping low, and taking cover at the end of another bed. They were solid so he couldn't slide underneath one.

 'Sheesh, this is more than we've had before. How many we got?'

 'About two hundred, I think. The Special Forces took them all from a school about three towns over.'

 'How'd they get them past Nekoma or Aoba Johsai? I thought they had the city surrounded?'

 'I dunno, do I? Not my department. Come on, let's just get the computer switched on and head off. I don't like being down here, it gives me the creeps.'

 The two men headed towards the end of the room and entered through the solid door. When it slid shut, Kageyama finally breathed and rose just so he was peering over the edge of the bed. What were they up to? What computer? He had to find out.

 When the lights on the computers all changed from green to yellow, Kageyama toppled over, a flash of panic running through him because he'd thought it was an alarm.

 Chatter told him the men were coming back and he took his hiding position again, waiting for them to pass by and leave. They didn't stop to look at any of the people lying, as though dead, in this dingy-lit room.

 Assuring the men weren't going to come back, Kageyama got to his feet and looked at the computer nearest to him. At least he thought it was a computer. It was a machine of some kind, but he didn't know what else to call it.

 There were words flashing across the screen - 'Memory modification: Processing'

 'Crap.'

 All the kids in this room were about to lose their memories. The entire life they'd know, gone. Families, friends, loved ones. They'd only know pain and death when they were forced into the war.

 'I've got to stop this.'

 


	16. Chapter 16

Thankfully, the door to the other room wasn't locked. Kageyama pushed it open and slipped inside, relieved to find it vacant.

 The room inside was small, with a desk that ran along one wall, several large computer systems running all at once, making a lot of noise that couldn't be heard from the outside. The main computer, he had to guess, was the biggest and was currently 'Loading Programme', which he could only assume was the memory modification thing.

 He took a seat in front of the computer and grabbed the mouse, completely unsure what he was supposed to do. He'd never used a computer before. He tried clicking randomly on the screen but it didn't seem to be doing anything, until he accidentally hit a little X in the top corner and it brought up a small screen asking for a password.

 'God damn.' He frowned, still clicking madly, hoping it would at least do something. Guessing the number password had been a complete fluke, it was just lucky it had started with the number one, but this password could be anything. It could be a system of random numbers, letters or any word in the dictionary. Or a combination of all three.

 There was nothing in the room that gave him any clues either. It was just as bare as the previous, apart from all the wires that were trailing across the floor. 

 What would happen if he pulled the wires out?

 Kageyama climbed onto the desk and peered around the back of the computer. There were loads of wires running into it, of course he didn't know what did what, but if he just yanked them all out, surely that would cut the power to it?

 Would that trigger an alarm? He rubbed at his chin, thinking. These people didn't deserve to lose their entire history but at the same time, he didn't want to get caught. There was nowhere for this group to go, either. If they ran out into the main base, causing havoc, the guards would shoot them.

 How could he be certain stopping the process wouldn't kill the people out there, either? The wiring was connected to their brains, he didn't want to risk making them all brain dead by switching off the machine.

 No, he had to leave them. As much as he hated it, he needed to focus on his number one priority, which was finding out what happened to Hinata and rescuing him. If he had the time, he would come back for these people. Even if they had memories removed, they wouldn't be dead. He could lead them out, somehow. They could rebuild family and friends.

 Still feeling really guilty about it, Kageyama pushed Hinata to the front of his mind, thinking about all the horrible things that could be happening to him right now, and sat back in front of the computer again. This thing had to have some kind of information about him.

 Another flash from the screen told him that the memory modification programme was now running. He grinded his teeth, before cursing and jumping to his feet and exiting the room. He approached the first person he saw, a blonde girl who looked vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't place it, and knelt down beside her head, looking at the weird metal instrument that was attached. There weren't any wires physically entering her skull, just this metal crown-like object pressing against her forehead.

 Very carefully, he touched it, just with his pinkie finger. It didn't shock him, so he tried his palm. When he was certain nothing bad would happen to him, he took hold of each side of it and slid it off the girls head, his teeth clenched together.

 No alarm sounded. The girl's heartbeat didn't stop. She slept on, unaware of anything that was going on.

 The metal crown was vibrating in his hands. On the inside, there were four white circles that were pulsing. He didn't stop to look at them for much longer, he dropped the crown at his feet and moved over to the next person.

 'What am I doing?' Kageyama scolded himself as he ran down the aisle, pulling off the metal crown on each person and carefully laying it next to their head. He wasn't supposed to be doing this, he was supposed to finding out about Hinata.

 After doing about thirty people, Kageyama stopped and bent over, hands on his knees, breathing hard. Running around was wearing him out and he'd not even done half of these people. 

 A computer close to him said that seventy-five percent of the memory programme was already completed. He get out a long groan, pulling at his hair. The rest had already lost seventy-five percent of their memories. What was the use in trying to get the crowns off of the rest. And what if there was a secondary programme that put back in basic memories? He couldn't be sure how the thing worked- he didn't want to leave these kids as mindless zombies.

 'I'm so sorry.' He said out loud, before running back to the control room. 

 It took a while for him to figure out how to minimise the current programme on the computer, but when he did, he whooped under his breath and began clicking on the folders that were available to him on the main screen. A lot of them involved instructions about Mechs, there were files on Nekoma, Aoba Johsai and Dateko, but Kageyama closed these. When a folder popped up that showed a list of thousands of names, his attention piqued.

 There was a little bar in the corner that said 'Search.'

 He typed in Hinata's name. 

A file came up, showing Hinata's profile and a photo. The photo was must have been from when he was first brought in, as he was asleep. He was wearing a Nekoma uniform.

 Kageyama's eyes scanned the text.

 

_Name: Shouyou Hinata - Confirmed as a Private soldier for Nekoma. Information taken from Nekoma database._

 

 The Crow's had access to Nekoma information. That was something he'd have to let Hinata know.

 A lot of the information was irrelevant, just about his height, weight, age, and blood type. It listed what group he'd been assigned to and his current ranking status, but other than that, there wasn't anything he could use to find out what had happened to Hinata.

 At least it proved that everything Hinata had told them was true. Not that he hadn't believed Hinata in the first place, but there was always a niggling doubt in the back of his mind that he couldn't push away until now.

 Despite knowing he should get up and leave, go search for Hinata somewhere else, Kageyama found himself typing in his own name, after dragging Hinata's open file to one side.

 His photo made him gasp.

 He looked a few years younger and was wearing an Aoba Johsai uniform.

 'Those bastards.' He muttered, anger fluttering through him.

 

_Name: Tobio Kageyama - Confirmed as a Private solider for Aoba Johsai. Information taken from Aoba Johsai base._

 

 Kageyama couldn't quite believe it. He'd once belonged to Aoba Johsai. What had happened that had caused him to be kidnapped by the Crow's?

 It irritated him that there was no information about his past life, about his family or where he had once come from, just the same useless crap about his biology.

 Sighing, he rubbed at his forehead before typing in Daichi's name. Perhaps this system had some information about Daichi and Tsukishima's disappearance. No one had heard anything about it, and the higher ups had kept oddly quiet about it, not even telling them that they had died. No one had been out searching for them.

 

_Name: Daichi Sawamura - Middle school student from Shiogama. School bus apprehended on field trip._

 

 They'd kidnapped a whole bus full of school children. How disgusting, Kageyama glared at the screen, scrolling down past the useless information. He then stopped, and went back up a little.

 Red text had caught his eye.

 

_Status: Alive_

  _Last spotted heading out of the city in an Aoba Johsai Mech._

_Traitor._

_KILL ON SIGHT._

 Scrambling to type in Tsukishima's name, he hastily scrolled down and found the same sentence written on Tsukishima's file. He let out a sigh of relief. That meant the both of them were safe. They'd escaped.

 At least that meant he could put both of them out of his mind.

 Tanaka's file told him he and his sister had once belonged to Nekoma. Noya's file only said he was taken from a middle school in Kawasaki. Asahi from Tagajo. 

 Of course, Kageyama had no idea where any of these places were, but he imagined they had to be close to their own city.

 Finally, he typed in Suga's name. Although he knew Suga was dead, the General had been very funny about it, perhaps there was more to Suga's death than any of them knew.

 

_Name: Koushi Sugawara - Confirmed as a Private solider for Aoba Johsai. Information taken from Aoba Johsai database._

_Status: Alive_

_Last spotted piloting an Aoba Johsai Mech._

_TRAITOR._

_KILL ON SIGHT._

Kageyama's mouth fell open. Suga was alive?!

 But they'd found his body...

 No, wait, they'd never returned any of his body to them, they'd only said they'd found bits and pieces of him. If he was hit by an explosion, it would make sense why there was blood they could analyse, so they could trick Daichi and the others that Suga had been killed by 'the enemy'. They didn't want the Karasuno team to know that Suga had joined Aoba Johsai, they wanted to make them all mad that he'd been 'wrongfully murdered' and make them more willing to fight for them. If they had never realised, they could have ended up fighting against Suga in an Aoba Mech.

 Had Daichi gone straight back out, wanting to take out his frustration, could he have ended up killing Suga without even realising it?

 It didn't matter now. They were together again.

 Happiness washed over him. Suga was alive and he was fighting back. And Daichi had gone to Aoba Johsai.

 A smile slid across his face. He would have liked to have seen Daichi and Suga's reunion. He was just so glad they were all safe.

 There was no point looking up Yamaguchi's name. Kageyama had seen him die. The body had been burnt and was now in an urn in Area 12. If he had time, he'd grab that and take it with him to give back to Tsukishima.

 With no other valuable information he could find, Kageyama pushed back on the chair, scraping over the floor, and was about to get to his feet and leave, when he noticed a one of the files flashing at him. He frowned, sat back down and clicked it.

 His own file came up. He didn't like looking at his own slumbering face, and scrolled down, looking for whatever the flashing was about. It was signalling that some of the information the page had been changed. Under status, where it said he was still alive, it said 'Cause for concern.'

 Fuck.

 They were suspicious of him. Had someone noticed he wasn't in Area 12? Was there a team on the hunt for him? He needed to get out of here.

 More files were flashing. He clicked them. Tanaka and Noya's came up, both with the same message added to theirs.

 Asahi's hadn't changed. Someone must have released the three of them weren't where they were supposed to be, but Asahi was probably still in the Medical Ward.

 'I need to find them,' Kageyama muttered, pushing the chair under the desk. He leaned over and began closing all the files he'd been looking at. If someone came in here and saw they were open, they'd surely put two and two together and come question the group as to whom had been in the restricted area.

 Hinata's profile popped up again.

 The information had been edited. Kageyama paused, the mouse hovering over the X button.

 He felt his stomach drop.

 Red text had appeared over the whole of Hinata's profile, bold and threatening.

 

_EXECUTION PENDING._


	17. Chapter 17

 Normally, getting from Area 12 to the General's office didn't take longer than about ten minutes, assuming the person travelling there knew their way around the base. For Tanaka and Noya, on the other hand, it took about forty minutes because they spent most of the time prattling around.

 They would stop at every corner, peer around, signal to each other several times that the coast was clear before sprinting the short distance to the next corner. They ended up in a quiet argument at one stage about what the hand signals should be, because Noya wanted to make squawking bird noises and Tanaka said this would only draw attention to themselves, before then suggesting they just the code names they'd come up earlier, which Noya agreed was a fantastic idea despite the fact they'd still be making just as much noise.

 It was when they came to one area of the base that had a four-way intersection, that they stopped and scratched their heads for a moment. Any sensible person trying to act nonchalant would have just continued walking, like they were heading somewhere with a purpose, but neither of them wanted to be spotted because they'd both consider this 'losing', despite the whole situation not being a game.

 They knew this, of course, and were worried about Hinata's safety, but couldn't help taking the whole 'spy-mission' thing a little too far.

 Noya had taken several paces back, telling Tanaka to 'trust him' and he sprinted forwards, rolling as he passed the intersection and came up on one knee, his arms in the air, shouting 'ROLLING THUNDER!', to which Tanaka looked incredibly impressed and clapped for his friends achievement.

 'The coast is clear, bro. Come on!'

  Tanaka ran after him and they took the final corridor that led to the Flight Area. It was as busy as it usually was on the floor below, despite neither of them having ever seen a plane or helicopter leave from here. People were still working on them, fixing engines and testing engines.

 General Ukai was not in his office. They could see inside through the glass wall, but couldn't get in because the door was locked.

 'Crap, bro. What do we do?' Tanaka rattled the door handle, and then kicked at the door as though this would help and only ended up hurting his foot. He hopped on the spot for a moment, while Noya looked over the railing. No one was looking up at them. There was too much noise from below for them to hear what was going on above. They needed to get inside before someone did by chance glance upwards. They couldn't be caught trying to break in.

 'It's pretty noisy. Think someone would notice if we smashed the glass?' Noya turned to look at Tanaka and jumped, startled. Kiyoko was stood behind Tanaka, holding a clipboard to her chest. 'Kiyoko! H-hello! We were just here to see the General...'

 'If you want to get into his office, I have a key.' She dug into her jacket pocket and pulled out a set of keys, not dissimilar to the one Asahi owned. She pushed past Tanaka, who had never looked more thrilled to see her, and she unlocked the door for them. 'I don't know how long the General will be away, so I suggest you're quick with whatever you're looking for.'

 'Kiyoko! You are the greatest! You are amazing! The most beautiful, wonderful-' Tanaka began, trying to hug her, but she put her hand against his face to keep him back. She then let go, stepping out the way as Tanaka crashed to the floor.

 'We'll keep watch out here. Go in.' She told Noya, who nodded, gave her a thumbs up and slipped inside. He could hear Tanaka complimenting her again, talking about how she had just wanted the two of them to be alone and by the sound of the thud that followed, she'd hit him with the clipboard.

 He went to the desk first, rifling through the drawers as fast as he could, but it was mostly unimportant stuff. There was nothing there about Hinata or any one in his team, just the latest Mech reports from the Lieutenants, several fancy looking cigars and lots of chocolate-bar wrappers that confused Noya as to where the General had gotten them from. Even if Hinata's story was true, there was supposed to be a wall surrounding the entire city, trapping them inside.

 Did the General have a way in and out of the city? It'd make sense, there were plenty of times when Daichi had been looking for him and no one knew where he was. His secretary had always just said 'away on business'. Was he leaving the wasteland? Going to the real world outside, leaving the people fighting for him behind in the dirt while he enjoyed himself and feasted on snacks and other luxuries.

 Slamming the doors shut, feeling frustrated, Noya moved to the filing cabinets and pulled one drawer open at random, rooting through the hundreds of files jammed inside. There wasn't a lot of it with labels, and he was pretty sure he didn't have time to go through every single one.

 In the third drawer he tried, he found a file that was labelled with Area 12. He yanked it out with some difficulty and slapped it onto the desk. The pages inside contained basic information about each member of his team, not much of use until he pulled out Suga's file, which had a big red stamp across it saying 'TRAITOR'. Noya blinked, frowning. Suga was dead. Why did this list him as a traitor?

 Both Daichi and Tsukishima's had the same stamp on their profiles too. Noya folded up all three and stuffed them down the front of his trousers, pulling his shirt over to cover them. The others would want to see these. Maybe they'd be able to make more sense of it.

 Hinata's file wasn't there.

 'Son of a-' Noya muttered, shoving the spilled out paper back into the file and binding it shut before stuffing it back into the drawer where it belonged, trying to push it down as far as it would go in the cramped drawer to keep it out of sight.

 This meant he wouldn't be able to find out any information about Hinata from this office, surely they'd have anything to do with him in the same file as his team mates. Unless there was anything about the prisoners or punishing people.

 No such files came to light, however, no matter how much he rummaged through the cabinets. He even tried a few random, un-named files but they had nothing about the prisoners being kept in the Crow's base. That information was probably kept somewhere else.

 One file did catch his eye though. A big, thick yellow one that was in the middle drawer of the first filing cabinet. He twisted it out, slicing one of his fingers on the edge of the paper and seething, before slamming it onto the surface of the desk.

 Something this chunky had to be important.

 What he found inside was like hitting the jackpot. It was filled with streams of information about the war, blueprints and instructions for designing and building the Crow's Allegiance base, dated only thirty years ago. There were photos of the wall that Nekoma and Aoba Johsai had built around the city of Sendai, which must have been what the wasteland city had once been called, and there was a thick block of text which Noya realised was a manual for the memory modification machine that was used on all new soldiers, not he really understood any of it. Too much technical jargon.

 At least this all proved what Hinata had said was true. If he could get this information out, pass it from Area to Area, maybe go to Saeko and Ukai, who could persuade people to follow them easier than he could, then they could cause a rebellion, rise up against the General and whoever stood beside him, and then get in contact with Nekoma and the others and surrender. They'd surely accept it and let them all free out of the city.

 In his excitement to show the file to Tanaka, he scooped everything up and wrenched it off the desk, knocking over a little Mech statue that was on the edge of the desk.

 Scared it would smash into a thousand pieces if it hit the floor, and with his arms full of paperwork, Noya bent at the knee and stuck out his right foot, catching the figure on his foot before it hit the ground.

 Cheering to himself, Noya let it fall gently to the floor and he left it there, ready to head out of the office, but then he felt the papers in his arms begin to slip and the majority of them went scattering across the floor, some disappearing under the desk, one or two heading towards the door.

 'Ah! Crap!' Noya had jumped back to avoid stepping on any of the papers and hit the edge of the desk with his hip, a jug of water that had been resting on the surface sliding along and dropping over the side before Noya could even have time to try and stop it. It smashed. Loudly.

 Water and shards of glass went everywhere, many of the pages becoming soaked.

 'Crap! Crap! Double crap!' Noya cried, bending down to start to gather up the paper before any more of it got damaged, but Kiyoko was sticking her head around the door, looking a little panicked.

 'The General is heading this way!' She slipped into the room, bending down. 'Get under the desk. I'll handle this.'

 Without thanking her and asking any questions, worried what he would do if the General caught him, he got underneath the desk and folded himself up as small as possible, holding his breath.

 He heard the door creak open and the General gave out an angry sigh. 'Shimizu! Explain yourself!'

 'Ah! I'm so sorry, Sir! I was trying to get a medical file from the cabinet, one of the nurses asked for it, they couldn't remember how to fix a heart monitor, and I needed to move this file out of the way,' she lied quickly, sounding very convincing. Noya was impressed. He would never have been able to think that quickly on his feet. 'I'm so, so sorry, Sir, it was a heavy file and I dropped it, and then I hit the desk and the jug fell off and smashed.'

 She sound choked up, like she was about to cry. Noya was going to give her the biggest high five when he got out of here.

 'I'll clean it up, I was just doing it now.'

 'Make sure you do, if any of those files are damaged  you had better recreate them exact.'

 'Yes, Sir.'

  There was a moment of silence and Noya wondered what was going on. Kiyoko then spoke up. 'Did you need something, Sir?'

 'I was just hoping for a five minute sit down, but I can't relax in all this mess. I'll go somewhere else. Get this tidied up. And get a new jug.'

 The door slammed after him as he left and Kiyoko let out a tiny sigh. 'You can come out.'

 'Holy crap! That was amazing!' Noya practically flipped over the desk to get to her, holding both hands in the air. She coughed awkwardly and stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to lower his arms, but when he didn't, she pulled a face, looking embarrassed, and gently pressed her hands against Noya's, only for a split second.  'YEAH! Thank you so much! I'm glad you've got our back!'

 'I've known about this stuff for a long time.' Kiyoko said quietly. She wasn't looking at him, but at her feet, as though she felt ashamed. 'I didn't think anyone would believe me so I didn't say anything.'

 'Hey, hey, don't blame yourself. They would have killed you if you'd started blabbing. Where's Tanaka, anyway?'

 'I told him to hide somewhere when we saw the General coming. I don't know where he chose.'

 Just then, the door burst open and Tanaka stomped in, looking pissed. 'What are you two doing in here, huh? Alone?! Without me? Kiyoko, how  could you! Look how short he is! You need a tall guy, like me!'

 'Ryu, shut up and help us gather this stuff up before the General comes back. We need to show this to Kageyama and Asahi. I was thinking we could spread it around the base, start an uprising.'

 'That's a bad idea,' Kiyoko said, shoving the papers back into their file. 'People aren't going to believe it until they see the proof with their own eyes. Photos can be faked. They could easily lie and say these blueprints are the last ones they had updated. Most people here are far too convinced with what they've been told, it's all they know. They'd probably think you were a spy for Nekoma or Aoba Johsai and you'd be killed.'

 'Do you at least know anything about Hinata? Where have they taken him?'

 Kiyoko shook her head. 'I don't know, I'm sorry. Here, take this to show your friends...'

 She handed him a page that showed the date the base was being built and one of the photos of the wall. 'He won't notice these things missing if he checks, take them to prove to Kageyama and Asahi. I'll speak to Ukai and Takeda.'

 Tanaka had grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. She looked very uncomfortable but for once allowed it to happen, although only for a few seconds before she was pushing him away. 'You're the greatest, Kiyoko! When we escape, I'm going to take you on the best date ever!'

  'Just go!'

 As the two of them sped out the office, clutching the files they would show Kageyama and Asahi, Tanaka fist bumped Noya and couldn't wipe the silly grin off of his face. 'Did you hear that, Yu? She didn't say no!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for such a short chapter, but I couldn't really think of anything else to stretch it out with that would be relevant to the plot.  
> The next chapter is pretty action packed so it should make up for it!  
> I just wanted something where Noya and Tanaka were being goofballs.


	18. Chapter 18

Kageyama was the first to arrive at the cafeteria, having ran all the way there from the restricted area, not even bothering to slow down when he passed by other people. He didn't care anymore, he didn't have time to care, he needed to find the others and go rescue Hinata before they murdered him.

 The cafeteria was quite busy, due to it being lunch time, and Kageyama tried to control his breathing and look natural, walking over to his table and sitting down, folding his hands in front of him. His foot kept twitching. He was feeling far too impatient to wait, but he needed the information from the others in order to find Hinata, as he hadn't got any ideas about where to begin looking.

 He jumped about a mile when Asahi plonked down in a seat next to him, pushing a tray of food in front of Kageyama. He glared at it, and then up at Asahi, who muttered out of the corner of his mouth, 'If we're going to try and act inconspicuous, we should be eating in the cafeteria.'

 Asahi picked up his fork and spooned some beans into his mouth. He looked incredibly stressed, his eyes kept moving in his head as he glanced around the room. Kageyama was used to Asahi being paranoid, but never like this.

 'They're watching us.' Kageyama whispered, pushing his food around his plate. He really wasn't hungry and he was sure if he tried to eat anything he'd only throw it back up again. 'I don't know if anyone noticed that me, Noya and Tanaka weren't in the training area, but I found a computer file that said we were a cause for concern.'

 'And me?'

 Kageyama shook his head. 'Yours hadn't changed.'

 'Maybe it's because you were all getting angry about Hinata earlier. I doubt they'll care just because you're not in your area. They probably want to keep an eye on you incase you try anything funny regarding Hinata... About that-'

 He was cut off, however, as Tanaka and Noya slipped into the cafeteria and sat down opposite them. They both had their arms wrapped around their middle, like they had a stomach ache, and were looking incredibly pleased with themselves. Before anyone could say anything, Noya had slipped something from under his shirt and pushed it towards Asahi and Kageyama.

 'What is this?' Asahi asked, looking over his shoulder before he glanced down at the photo Noya had handed to them. 'A wall?'

  _'The_ wall. The one that surrounds this city. This is proof that everything Hinata said was true. Even Kiyoko said she's known about it. Plus,' he grabbed the photo back and swapped it with a sheet of paper that had a section of blueprints, which were dated thirty  years ago. 'These are one of blueprints they had when they built the base, look at the date! How long ago did Hinata say the war really started? Twenty-three years? They started building this place seven years before it started, they were getting ready for a battle.'

 'We were thinking about spreading this information round, but Kiyoko said it was a bad idea. Too many people here are too loyal. We could be killed as traitors.' Tanaka muttered, grabbing some of Asahi's food and shoving it in his mouth. While he chewed noisily, Noya put three more pieces of paper on the table.

 They were profiles for Suga, Daichi and Tsukishima. 'They're listed as traitors-'

'Yes!' Kageyama jabbed at the photo of Suga. 'He's still alive!'

 'What?!' The other three all dropped whatever they were holding and stared at him. 'But, they said they found him...'

 'They said they found pieces of him, but never a body. But that must have been a lie. Listen, in the restricted area, that's where all the new soldiers are being kept, where they erase their memories. I tried to help but there were too many of them, there wasn't much I could do. Anyway, I found this computer and it had all our details on it and it said Suga is still alive and spotted working for Aoba Johsai. Daichi and Tsukishima were both seen leaving with Aoba Mechs.'

 Asahi sniffled, on the verge of tears, but held them back.

 'Not only that, but there was information about where we were all taken from. I used to work for Aoba Johsai! Tanaka, you were from Nekoma.'

 'You're fucking kidding me!' Tanaka gaped at him. 'What about Saeko?'

 'You were partners.'

 'What about me?' Noya asked, looking excited. 'Did I kick butt too?'

 Kageyama pulled a face, trying to remember. 'No, no, you were taken from a middle school somewhere... Kawasaki? Asahi was from somewhere beginning with a T, I can't recall. Suga used to work for Aoba Johsai as well.'

 Tanaka was getting to his feet. 'I've got to tell Saeko!'

 'No, not yet.' Kageyama snapped and Noya pulled him back into his seat. 'Our first priority is rescuing Hinata. He's going to be executed!'

 Both Tanaka and Noya gasped. Asahi didn't, which confused the other three. He looked apologetic. 'Sorry. I already know. '

 'Did you get into the prison area?!' Kageyama had forgotten he'd sent Asahi to do that. Asahi was looking very upset.

 'No, they wouldn't let me in. They said I wasn't needed there.'

 'Hinata's got to be there, then.'

 'I overheard the other nurses gossiping about it, one of them had just come back from treating someone in the prison area. I asked if Hinata was there but they said they'd not seen him, they'd only heard he was going to be executed for being a traitor to the Allegiance and it was going to take place _this afternoon_.'

 'WHAT?!' Kageyama had shouted so loud that the entire cafeteria felt silent to look at him. When he noticed everyone staring at him, he stood up and brushed himself down, trying to keep a look of absolute fury on his face, although turning his attention to Tanaka. 'You think you can beat me in a Mech fight?'

 Thankfully, both Noya and Tanaka caught on to what Kageyama was doing and jumped up themselves, while Asahi gathered up all the paper and pushed it under his jumper. 'We can take you any day.'

 'Right now? You wanna go?' Tanaka hit his chest.

 'Let's go.' Kageyama stormed out of the cafeteria, followed by Noya and Tanaka, who kept yelling insults at him, getting a little too into the role-playing. Asahi soon came tottering after them, arms wrapped around his stomach, shouting at them to calm down.

 Once they were away from prying eyes, and completely sure they were alone, they dropped the act. 'What's the plan then?'

 Tanaka and Noya looked puzzled. 'Plan?'

 'We've got to rescue Hinata. Now.'

 'How?'

  It was getting into the prison area that was going to be the challenge, since Asahi had been denied entrance there would be no way to just have him sneak them in. Tanaka and Noya suggested that if they distracted the guards outside, Asahi and Kageyama could slink in then, as Asahi had a key, but Kageyama pointed out that they'd only be caught once inside.

 'What if we had uniforms?' Asahi mumbled. Everyone stopped bickering (Noya and Tanaka were annoyed that their plan had been shot down) and turned to face him.

 'Uniforms?' Kageyama repeated. Asahi nodded.

 'I know where they keep the spare prison guard uniforms. If we followed Noya's plan-'

 'It was _my_ plan too!' Tanaka growled and Asahi apologised instantly.

 'Noya and Tanaka's plan,' Asahi corrected himself. 'Then while the two guards outside were distracted, we could go inside and find Hinata.'

 'Won't someone recognise you?'

 'Well, probably,' Asahi shuffled on the spot. 'But the guards usually stay in the recreational room- it's got sofas and food and games, they don't care enough about the prisoners to stand watch all day. Besides, we'd only need to look at the big chart on the wall to find out where they're keeping Hinata, they have a list of all the prisoners and what cell they're in.'

 Even though Kageyama knew it was risky and they could easily get caught, it was the best plan they had. They followed Asahi to the laundry room, which smelt damp and didn't look very clean, and he fished out some spare guard uniforms from a locked cupboard on the far wall, which also held spare medical slacks.

 The prison uniforms were much nicer than most of clothing available to anyone else. The material was strong and stiff, and had been pressed neatly so there were zero creases. Kageyama tugged on a black button-up shirt and Tanaka pushed a black cap onto his head.

 It took a while to find one in Asahi's size, being such a big guy, and he had to settle on one that was just slightly too small for him and clung to his frame. Tanaka was laughing but Noya said nothing.

 Embarrassed, but not complaining about it, Asahi followed Kageyama out of the laundry room and together they walked towards the prison area, nervously glancing behind them, paranoid they were being followed even though Tanaka, who was keeping a look-out, said everything was fine.

 Whenever they passed by someone, they would turn their faces away. The other people didn't really care. They saw guards wandering around all the time, so this was nothing new.

 One of the girls did give Noya a cheeky wink and he doubled back to talk to her until Kageyama grabbed him by the ear and dragged him along, swearing at him.

 They all came to a halt when they reached the corridor that lead down to the prison area. There was a large silver door with one window with metal bars, a sign that said 'Authorised personnel only' and two prison guards were stood on either side, hands on their hips where a gun hung from their belt, and they were both facing forwards, deadly serious.

 'Think you can get them to chase you?' Kageyama whispered to Noya, who had the most devilish look on his face. Tanaka's expression was almost identical. 'Perhaps we should have thought this bit through?'

 'We got this.' Tanaka reassured Kageyama, before grabbing Noya around the waist and hoisting him into the air, rounding the corner. Both the guards turned to look at him.

 'Soldiers, return to your assigned area.' One guard commanded.

 'GO!' Tanaka threw Noya as hard as he could and both guards shrieked as Noya came flying at them, forward rolling as he hit the floor, shouting 'ROLLING THUNDER!' and head butting one of the guys in the groin, making him crash against the wall, whimpering in pain.

 Before the second guard could react, Tanaka had ran over and kicked him in the stomach. He and Noya both grabbed the guns off the guards belts and turned on their heel, pelting down the corridor past where Asahi and Kageyama were hiding. A few moments passed, as the two guards got their bearings back, and they streaked after them, disappearing around a bend.

 'I didn't think they were going to _hit_ the guards!' Asahi fretted as he and Kageyama ran towards the prison door and Asahi fumbled with the keys in his pocket, trying to find the right one. 'They're going to be in so much trouble!'

 'Be quiet, we can't worry about them. I'm sure they can handle themselves.' Kageyama hurried Asahi along, as he was getting really impatient now. Time was ticking away and if they were even a minute too late Hinata could lose his life.

 Once inside, Asahi directed Kageyama over to a wall where there was a chart listing hundreds of names. He gawked at it, shocked at how many people were locked away down here- Asahi said the prison had several different levels, each one going deeper underground and the crime committed would depend on which level you'd end up on.

 'I've never been lower than the first level, which is where they kept you. I've heard really bad things though, but I always thought that maybe, I don't know, the prisoners were murderers who deserved it. I feel bad.'

 'Stop worrying,' Kageyama's eyes were scanning the chart. He was reading too fast and had to calm himself down- all the words were just blurring into one. Asahi was constantly glancing around them, looking for signs of any approaching guards, but the corridor was currently empty. They could hear laughter coming from somewhere down the corridor, which Asahi said was the recreational room.

 Suddenly, Kageyama slammed his hand on the chart, startling Asahi, who put a hand to his chest. 'There! He's being held a level down. Cell nine. How do we get down?'

 'Uh, there are some stairs this way, I think.' Asahi began to tiptoe down the corridor, completely on edge, and Kageyama was getting really frustrated with him. If Noya was here, he'd be charging down the corridor at full speed.

 'I know you don't want us to get caught, but could you hurry it along a bit?' Kageyama snapped and Asahi nodded, looking terrified. They passed the recreational room, ducking down so they wouldn't be spotted through the window in the door, and then ran the rest of the way, trying to keep their footsteps light. When they reached the stairs, they heard voices coming up and Kageyama grabbed Asahi by the front of his shirt and pushed him into the nearest unlocked, empty cell. It was just like the padded room Kageyama had been kept in before. They knelt down, peering through the window.

 The pair of them almost gasped when Hinata was brought up the stairs, looking beaten and bloody, his hands shackled behind his back. Two guards were leading him, followed closely by the General, who was talking into a com in his ear and looking very stern.  

 Kageyama instinctively moved, ready to get up and go tackle the bastards that were holding Hinata hostage, but Asahi's hand slipped around his wrist and he shook his head at Kageyama. He pointed out the window and whispered, 'They have guns.'

 'I'm going to kill them.' Kageyama muttered darkly, moving so he could see further down the corridor, as they'd walked Hinata away from the cell window.

 'Oh, Sir!' An unfamiliar voice floated into the room. From the loud laughter they could hear, someone had just exited the recreational room and was speaking to the General. 'Are you transferring a prisoner? Do you have the paperwork-'

 'No, this is going off the record. We'll update the computer system, but that's it.'

 'Off the record, Sir?'

 'He's being sentenced to death. He's a traitor to the Allegiance. We're taking him to Area Zero. I suggest you get that cell cleaned up, it's covered in blood.'

 'Yes, Sir, right away.' A soldier appeared and went scurrying down the stairs and out of sight. Kageyama's breathing had become heavy and he was digging his nails into the palms of his hand so hard he was peeling away the skin.

 'Where is Area Zero?' Kageyama whispered to Asahi, watching as Hinata and the guards disappeared from view. They both got to their feet. 'I've never heard of it.'

 'It's a closed-off area of the base, I heard it was being renovated and it was too dangerous for anyone to go into. They probably want to do it away from prying eyes.'

 'We need to go! Now!'  

 'What are you going to do? How will you stop them?'  

 Kageyama paused for a moment. 'We need to find Noya and Tanaka. If they still have the guns they nicked from those two guards, we can use them to kill the General.'

 Asahi's eyes grew wide. 'You're really going to kill him?'

***

 Finding Noya and Tanaka was proving to be difficult and it was making Kageyama more and more furious. He and Asahi had snuck out of the prison area and ran the way they'd seen the two of them scarper, but they weren't hiding in any cupboards or spare rooms they passed by and Asahi was starting to panic that 'maybe they'd been caught' and 'what are we going to do then?' and 'what if Hinata dies?', which were also winding Kageyama up and eventually he span around and shouted at Asahi.

 As soon as Asahi's mouth started to wobble Kageyama felt bad. He mumbled an apology and said he was just upset because of Hinata.

 'Maybe we should just head to Area Zero without them. If I distract the guards, you can grab Hinata and run.'

 'You'll be killed!'

 'It doesn't matter! Let's just go.'

  'OI!' A voice from above made them both yelp. They looked up, at the ventilation shaft, and saw a pair of eyes squinting down at them. The grate slid away and Noya dropped down in front of them, crouching low and holding out the gun he'd stolen in front of them. 'BANG!'

 'What's going on? Did you find him?' Tanaka was slithering out of the vent now. He was covered in dust but he didn't seem to care.

 'Yeah, they're taking him to Area Zero to be executed. We need to go, now. If you two take out the guards, me and Asahi will grab Hinata. Are you cool with that?'

 'YEAH LET'S DO IT!' Noya pumped his fist in the air. Then he lowered it, looking confused. 'Where is Area Zero?'

 'I think Asahi knows.'

 'Lead the way! Let's get our shrimpy friend back!'

 'Who are you calling shrimpy?' Tanaka scoffed and Noya scowled at him.

 Allowing Asahi to lead the way, the four of them sped through the base, taking tunnel after tunnel, which all eventually started to blur into one and Kageyama felt like they were running in circles, but eventually they reached a section of the base which was roped off, with a big warning sign overhead that said it was dangerous to pass beyond this point.

 Ignoring Asahi's constant warnings that they needed to be careful, as there was a lot of broken bricks piled up and wires hanging from the ceiling, they all crept down the corridor and glanced in every room they passed, the majority of which were completely empty. It was the room at the end that they found Hinata.

 They emerged on a small metal railing, which had steps leading down into the room below. The General wasn't there, just two guards stood on either side of Hinata, who had a black bag over his head and was knelt down, hands still cuffed. His shirt was soaked in blood.

 Quickly, Kageyama pushed them back into the corridor and put a finger to his lips. He spoke very quietly. The gunshots will echo in that room, do you think you'd be able to draw them out again so we can grab Hinata?'

 'I don't think it'll work this time.' Asahi said. 'I bet they've been ordered to shoot anyone who's not the General on sight, they're both holding guns in their hands.'

 'Looks like we're going to have to just shoot them.' Tanaka checked his gun was loaded. 'We've got this. Stay out here until we say you can come in.'

  Kageyama and Asahi stood back as Tanaka and Noya got on their fronts and army crawled back into the room. Asahi had his hands over his ears. A long silence followed and Kageyama was starting to get concerned, and then shots rang out. Five in total.

 Hinata screamed.

 Without waiting for the call, Kageyama burst into the room and found the two guards both lying at Hinata's side, blood seeping around them. One had been shot twice in the head, the other three times in the chest. Noya and Tanaka were bickering about who had made the best shot.

 'The chest is better to aim for because even if you miss the heart, you'll hit the lungs!' Tanaka was saying and Noya was shaking his head, making a big statement about how destroying the brain was always the best option and Tanaka was clearly a crap shot if he thought he'd miss.

 Leaving them to argue, Kageyama took the steps three at a time and ran over to Hinata, whipping the bag off of his head. At the sight of Kageyama in front of him, Hinata began to cry. His face was swollen and blood was leaking out the corner of his mouth.

 Kageyama pulled him to his feet while Asahi searched the guards for keys. When he found what he was looking for, he freed Hinata from the handcuffs, which clattered to the floor. Kageyama had his hands pressed to the sides of Hinata's face, making him look him in the eye. 'Are you ok? Can you run?'

 'Yeah...' Was all Hinata managed to say and Kageyama grabbed his hand and they ran back up the steps and back the way they had came. Before they could reach the exit, however, Tanaka had grabbed both of them and flung them into a side room. They all crouched down, resting against a wall, as several guards holding machine guns hurried past, followed by the General.

 'They must have heard the gun fire. We need to get out of the base as fast as possible.' Tanaka let out a sigh of relief. 'Good thing I heard them coming.'

 'What do we do? What do we do?' Asahi asked in a panic and Noya placed a hand on his face to shut him up.

 'We escape. We get back to Area 12, we get in a Mech and we leave. We head for the border, surrender if Nekoma or Aoba Johsai try to attack us. If they recognise me, Hinata or Tanaka, they might not kill us. Hopefully.'

 A shout came from the room where they'd left the two dead guards and the five of them sprang to their feet and hurried out of Area Zero. Kageyama flung off the hat, it was starting to make his head itch.

 Sprinting was starting to tire Kageyama out, and his lungs were screaming at him, but he didn't stop and he didn't let go of Hinata's hand, not until they'd made it all the way back to Area 12, where they collapsed to the floor, getting their breath back.

 Major Ukai, Captain  Takeda and Kiyoko were in here. They all looked up, startled, to see the five Karasuno members lying in a heap. 'What the-?'

 'We need to escape.' Kageyama wheezed, pulling Hinata up. He made Hinata put his arm around his shoulder, letting Hinata put all his weight onto him, and they began to head towards their Mech. 'Hinata was about to be executed. We got him out, but we killed two guards. The General is going to know it was us. We have to leave now.'

 For a moment, Kageyama thought Ukai was going to hit him. He was the General's grandson, but instead, he let out a breath and nodded. 'We're coming too. Kiyoko has just been telling us everything that's happened. Everything about the war.'

 'You're turning against your own family?' Tanaka asked. Ukai scoffed.

 'He's not my family. Not anymore. He had my parents killed.'

 'What?!'

 'I found an execution file for Ukai's parents when I was tidying away those papers you dropped,' Kiyoko pointed to a blue folder sat on Suga's old table. 'His father didn't agree with what the General was doing and didn't want any part of it, so the General had him and his wife killed. He told Keishin they'd died fighting in the war, but they'd never even set foot in a Mech.'

 'Disgusting.' Kageyama muttered. 'Once we get out of here, you can join us in bringing this place down. I'm going to destroy every last Crow that stands with the General.'

 'I'm really sorry, Ukai.' Asahi sniffed, patting Ukai on the shoulder. He nodded, but said nothing. Kageyama could tell by the look on his face that the news had hit Ukai hard, but he was doing his best to keep it bottled up for the time being. Takeda hovered around him, looking torn. He obviously wanted to comfort his friend but wasn't sure whether it was the right time.

 'Are you coming, Kiyoko?' Tanaka looked eager. 'You can sit in mine and Noya's Mech.'

 'No, I can pilot a Mech with Asahi.' Kiyoko turned to Asahi, who was dumbstruck. 'I'll move it if you're not comfortable doing anything. You just need to sit in one.'

 'Noya can go with Asahi,' Tanaka shoved his friend into Asahi, who caught him before he fell. 'You can come with me!'

 'No, thank you.'

 Groaning very loudly about it, Tanaka grabbed Noya and pushed him into their Mech before climbing in after him and lowering the top. They switched on the engine and stomped their Mech over to the door, waving a metal hand at the others to hurry up.

 Asahi was very nervous about getting back in a Mech but Kiyoko was very calm with him and said there would be no fighting, no death, they were just using it as a form of transportation to escape in. He eventually got in, although shaking, and she continued speaking to him, although Kageyama couldn't hear what was being said now, and he was slowly beginning to calm down. She shut the top and joined Tanaka by the door.

 'You two get in, we'll open the door and then follow after. Don't worry about us, we'll contact you when we're behind.'

 Hinata had gone very pale and was wobbly on his feet. With Ukai's help, Kageyama placed Hinata safely in the Mech and strapped him in, pressing two fingers on his neck to check his pulse. It was regular, which Kageyama was thankful about. Hinata was probably tired from his ordeal and the blood loss wasn't helping.

 'I'm ready, open the gate.'

 This felt like some kind of bizarre dream. The last time he'd been heading out in a Mech with Hinata, they'd been ready to fight to the death, to kill, and now they were escaping together, looking forward to an unknown future where they lived without fear. He'd always dreamt about it, them having a 'normal' life together, but he'd never ever thought it would actually come true.

 A rattling sound told him the door was beginning to rise and the sunlight poured in. Once the door was high enough, Tanaka and Kiyoko's Mechs left, but Kageyama waited behind a moment, wanting to make sure Ukai and Takeda were getting in their own Mech and following behind.

 That's when the siren began to wail.

 Shouting alerted him and he spun the Mech around at the middle.

 The General had just entered their Area, accompanied by several guards, who began firing at Kageyama's Mech, not that it didn't much damage, if any at all. The rattling made Hinata complain, although it was nonsensical. He tried to pull at the controls but Kageyama pushed him back down into his seat. 'Stay still.'

 'They've got Ukai and Takeda...' Hinata mumbled, spitting blood. Kageyama's head span to look out the window.

 Major Ukai and Captain Takeda were being dragged out of the control room. A guard smacked them around the back of the neck and brought them to their knees. A gun was pressed to both of their heads.

 'NO!' Kageyama screamed, watching as the General ordered the guards to shoot his grandson.


	19. Chapter 19

Gunfire rang out across Area 12 and all the guards who had entered with General Ukai dropped to the floor, dead. The General himself had been hit in the leg, and had collapsed, clutching at his bleeding wound, cursing.

 Kageyama lowered the machine gun on his Mech and pushed open the top, calling to Major Ukai and Captain Takeda to hurry into their own Mech and follow on behind him. Noya and the others had already gone on ahead and they needed to catch up, not to mention Hinata needed medical assistance, he was almost unconscious.

 Although Ukai was shouting at Kageyama for taking such a stupid risk and that he should have gone on without them, he was thankful for him saving his and Takeda's life, and paid no attention to his fallen grandfather as he clambered into a Mech, helping Takeda up.

 'How could you betray your own family?!' The General was screeching, but Ukai didn't give him the time of day - Kageyama thought it was a bit rich coming from a guy who'd killed his own son and daughter-in-law. He just pulled down the top and Kageyama followed suit, and together they stomped their way out of the Crow base, contacting Noya on the com system to find out his location.

 Noya, Tanaka, Asahi and Kiyoko had been waiting up ahead for them to catch up, and said they needed to hurry before the General called the Special Forces to come after them.

 It took a while for them to get to the edge of the city, it was bigger than they all originally thought, obviously having only ever seen such a small section of it, and Kageyama was doing his best to try and keep Hianta awake and focused, but his head kept drooping and his eyelids kept closing and it was only a smack around the back of the neck that jerked him upright again.

 'I'm fine, Kageyama, I swear. I'm just really tired.' Hinata protested, hitting Kageyama's hand away from him. 'The General can really punch.'

 'Do not fall asleep on me, not until we've got you checked over. They could have broken something, or ruptured something, or-'

 'Stop worrying.' Hinata groaned, shifting in his seat. He looked like he was in pain but he didn't complain about it. 'We just need to get out.'

 'What even happened? Didn't they believe you?'

 Hinata laughed. 'They didn't even give me time to lie about it. They said they knew I'd been told everything- the truth about the war, that spies had spotted me getting out of the Nekoma Mech and had seen me heading towards the base. They knew what I was up to, although, they thought I'd just come to steal information and destroy them from the inside, and not to rescue all of you.'

 'You're a fucking idiot. Why did you even come back? You should have stayed away!'

 Hinata slammed his hand on the dashboard. 'No! I wasn't going to leave you! Or Noya, or Tanaka, or anyone! I had to come back, and it's fine. We're getting out!'

 'You're such a dumbass!' Kageyama snapped, moving the Mech forward with a little too much aggression that they almost toppled over. Ukai's Mech paused for a moment to check they were alright, before moving on again. 'You think I would have left if you had been killed?'

 'You need to know the truth! I couldn't live in Tokyo with my family knowing you were alone! Knowing what they were doing to you!' Hinata started to look upset, so Kageyama withdrew a little and let himself calm down. Hinata was only trying to help, even if it was completely and utterly stupid to have done so. 'Are you mad at me?'

 'I'm always mad at you, dumbass.' Kageyama slapped him again, as Hinata's eyes had been drooping. 'You're an idiot. You never think anything through.'

 'I did _have_ a plan. They just didn't buy it.' Hinata huffed.

 'Did you not think what would happen if they didn't believe you, what were you going to do then? You're lucky we could get you out.'

 'Thank you,' Hinata said after a moments silence and Kageyama just gave him a glance out the corner of his eye without commenting. 'You saved my life.'

 'I told you, as long as  you've got me as a partner, I'm not going to let you die. NOW STOP TRYING TO SLEEP!' He shouted, making Hinata yelp and sit up straight again. 'Just talk to me about this stupid house of yours, or your family, or something. Keep your brain working, whatever little of it you have.'

 Usually, Kageyama got annoyed hearing Hinata prattle on all the time- once he got started it was very hard to stop him- but today he was just enjoying listening to the sound of his voice. It soothed him, and he felt comforted by it. He was picturing their future together, him and Hinata, living in some majestic city somewhere, in their own little house, with actual windows, and they'd go on cute, romantic dates and spend as much time as possible outdoors, and kiss under the stars. He'd always loved night missions when the stars were out. They hadn't come around very often.

 Of course, that was assuming Hinata wanted any of that. He had no idea how Hinata felt about him, and he hadn't said anything about Kageyama kissing him before he was taken by Nekoma. Maybe he was purposely avoiding the subject because he didn't want to hurt Kageyama by saying he wasn't interested, or he didn't want to ruin the friendship they already had.

 His face had grown hot from thinking about it and he cursed at himself. He was letting his emotions get the better of them. It wasn't time to be thinking about stuff like that, not yet anyway. They weren't out of the city.

 Seeing the wall made him gasp. They'd been travelling for quite some time, crossing an entire city wasn't an easy task, but they'd eventually made it without any hiccups. There were Nekoma Mechs everywhere, though, all of them poised and armed, but they didn't fire.

 They allowed the four Crow Mechs to line up and Noya told Kageyama to open his top and let them see Hinata.

 A Nekoma Mech opened and stomped over to them, revealing two boys inside, one with ridiculous half-coloured hair that irritated Kageyama just having to look at it, and the other had hair so messy Kageyama wouldn't be surprised if he'd just rolled out of bed.

 'What happened to Shorty?' The messy haired one asked, yawning. Kageyama didn't trust either of these guys on instinct but he knew Hinata did, so he said nothing against them, and just explained briefly what had happened.

 The stupid haired one sighed dramatically and stared blankly at Kageyama. 'You'd better come in then.'

***

 

 Nekoma base was quite bland, in Kageyama's opinion. He'd been expecting more than this, but he had thought it was connected to this magical city Hinata had spoken about and was disappointed to learn it was quite a journey away.

 He wasn't happy about Hinata being taken away from him, but he couldn't stop the doctors from rushing him into the medical unit to check him over. They reassured Kageyama and said it was likely he'd be fine, he'd just taken a rough beating and needed some bed rest.

 Not that Kageyama had much time to sit around and worry about his friend, because he and the others were dragged off to meet the General of Nekoma, one Nekomata, and they had to explain to him, in great detail, everything that had happened, as well as any inside information they knew about the Crow's Allegiance and said it would be unlikely that they'd be allowed to go free, not officially, for some time, as he couldn't risk them turning out to be still on the enemy side.

 Tanaka had demanded to know if there was anything to do to get his sister, but the General said unless she willingly came on her own, it was unlikely. After what had happened to Hinata, there was no way he'd be sending anyone back to the Crow base, especially if they'd attacked and killed Crow guards, rescued a hostage and escaped after shooting General Ukai.

 He promised that he would look into all their history, find out who their families were and try and arrange them all places to live in Tokyo, as the majority of areas surrounding Sendai had been evacuated since the Crow's Allegiance kept stealing people. He said he could easily contact Tanaka's parents, as he knew them personally, and Tanaka had been, for once in his life, at a loss for words.

 Kageyama had asked about his family, said he'd found out that he was once part of Aoba Johsai, and the General had nodded and said he would get in touch with their leader, a man named Irihata, but first, he had a surprise for all of them.

 'I don't like the idea of this surprise,' Tanaka muttered, as the group followed General Nekomata down a flight of stairs and along a corridor. 'What if it's a trap? What if they don't trust us. If that happens, you guys make a run for it, grab Hinata, I'll hold him off-'

 His words trailed off as the General pushed open a door.

 Daichi, Suga and Tsukishima were all seated inside, around a small table. They were sharing a pot of coffee and had been chatting quietly until the others had arrived. Upon seeing them, Daichi and Suga jumped to their feet. Tsukishima stayed seated, but gave a half-assed smile.

 Noya and Tanaka flew at them. Noya had wrapped his legs around Daichi's waist and was hugging him, tears streaming down his face, while Tanaka had Suga in some form of headlock and was sobbing uncontrollably.

 'Guys, guys, calm down, it's fine, I'm alive.' Suga was laughing, having freed himself from Tanaka's grip. They shared a proper hug and Tanaka left a snotty trail on Suga's shirt, which he didn't look too impressed about.

 Asahi was crying, of course. He had grabbed Daichi and Suga into a bone-crunching hug and was trying to talk but it was incomprehensible.

 Tsukishima wouldn't let anyone hug him, not that Tanaka and Noya didn't try. They both ended up grabbing an arm each and wailing, which Tsukishima was very unhappy about and had to have Daichi free him.

 Ukai shook hands with both of them, smiling. 'I'm glad to see the two of you are doing alright. You too, Tsukishima.'

 'You've got to tell us what happened,' Takeda had taken an empty seat at the table and was pouring Styrofoam cups of coffee for everyone. 'How did you survive, Suga? How did you two go off the radar?'

 'Are you going to come in, Kageyama?' Daichi was stood waiting for him to enter, he was still lingering in the doorway. The sight of them had shocked him, even though he knew they were all still alive. He hadn't expected them to actually be here. 'Are you alright?'

 'Yeah.' He came in and shut the door behind him. General Nekomata had already left. 'It's just... it's the whole team, back together again.'

 'Well, Hinata's in the hospital.' Tanaka said as he slurped coffee. 'This stuff is great! We never had shit like this back at the Crow base. Tell me, guys, are the babes here as hot as Hinata said they were- ah! Not hotter than you, of course, Kiyoko!'

 She didn't look like she cared, she was wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her black jacket. Takeda patted her on the back very gently.

  'Yamaguchi isn't here.' Tsukishima muttered and everyone fell silent, except Kageyama, who physically smacked himself in the face, causing his team to look very bemused.

 'I forgot to grab the urn! Crap! Crap! I screwed up!'

 'Forget about it.' Tsukishima said. 'Seriously. Just sit down.'

 Feeling horribly guilty for leaving Yamaguchi behind, Kageyama took the final seat and accepted the coffee that was handed to him. Everyone's attention was back of Suga. They wanted to know exactly what had happened to him.

  'I don't really remember much, I'd gotten out of our Mech to fix one of the legs and the bomb hit close by, which sent me flying. I'd managed to protect my face in time, and the suit took most of the damage, although I was left with a lot of scarring,' Suga began to explain. 'I was really lucky, really, the Aoba Johsai medics said I did almost die, but Oikawa found me in time.'

 'Oikawa?'

 'He's an old... ah... acquaintance of mine. We went to school together, or so he says, and I was an Aoba Johsai Mech pilot before the Crow's kidnapped me. He recognised me and brought me back. They had no idea about the memory modification thing, it was the same when Nekoma found Hinata.'

 'What is it he keeps calling you?' Daichi sniggered. 'Mr-R-something?'

 Suga sighed. 'Mr.Refreshing.'

 'What-what?' Tanaka crumpled up his cup. 'Refreshing?'

 'Yeah, he said I hadn't changed and I'm still as 'refreshing' as ever, whatever that means.'

 'Can I see your scars?!' Noya had knelt up in his chair, leaning on the table. 'Have you seen Daichi's? They're really cool.'

 'I have seen Daichi's.' Suga smirked and Daichi went a bit pink. Suga then lifted up the white cotton shirt he was wearing, only a little, to show the group the nasty looking white-pink scar that spread across his whole stomach and around his back. 'It goes down my legs too. There's not a lot of my arms, which is lucky.'

 'Woah, and I thought Daichi's were bad!'

 'Yeah, well, he got protected from the blast by being inside a Mech.' Suga said. 'Anyway, so they brought me back here, patched me up- their medical system is ten times more advanced than back at the Crow base, you'd be fascinated to see it Asahi- and I said I wanted to go after Daichi. It took them a little while to let me into a Mech, I don't think they trusted me at first, but Oikawa said he would pilot one with me, to be on the safe-side. When we finally found Daichi's Mech, I ripped out the wires that connected the Mech back to the base, that's why they suddenly went off the grid. We couldn't have anyone following us.'

 'He was a pain in the ass.' Daichi looked like he was remembering something really annoying.

 'I tried to make you follow me! You weren't having any of it!'

 'We thought it was a trap!'

 'You'd have shot me on first sight if I had just opened the top and gotten out.' Daichi grumbled. Suga leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, making the room gasp. He peered around at them, looking a little smug. 'What?'

  'ARE YOU DATING NOW?!' Tanaka said a little too loudly and a bit too eagerly. Daichi looked very embarrassed but Suga seemed completely cool with it and just nodded.

 'This isn't really the time-' Daichi began but Suga cut him off by placing a hand over his mouth.

 'Did you cry? I wish I'd seen that! I've spent years trying to make Daichi cry!' Noya fumed, folding his arms. 'I'm glad you two finally got together, though. About time!'

 'You knew?' Daichi looked baffled. Tanaka scoffed.

 'It was obvious, Captain. Like Kageyama and Hinata.'

 All eyes had turned to Kageyama now, who couldn't even get out a sentence, he was just stammering.

 'Don't tease him.' Suga pulled a face at Tanaka, who raised his hands in a 'I'm-not-doing-anything' kind of way and fell back in his seat, but grinned wickedly at Kageyama. 'You shouldn't say things like that, Tanaka.'

 'It's true!'

 'That's for Kageyama to say.'

 'Oh. Yeah. I guess. Sorry, Kags.'

 'Whatever.' Kageyama couldn't look anyone in the eye. How long had they known? Had he been that obvious? Maybe Hinata had always seen it too, even though he was pretty sure Hinata was oblivious about everything.

 When Hinata woke up, he was just going to ask him straight. If Hinata said no, it didn't matter. Kageyama would just find his old family and go back to them. As long as Hinata was safe and away from the Crow's, it was fine.

 Except, when it actually came round to it, later that evening when Hinata had been released from hospital with no major injuries to speak of, Kageyama had lost his nerve and tried to avoid him.

 General Nekomata had thrown them a little celebration, which was really kind of him, and all of the Nekoma team had turned up, along with several people from Aoba Johsai, and the man that Noya had shot from Dateko and Noya was trying to make Asahi go over and speak to him (Asahi was terrified and kept trying to run away - this Dateko did look very intimidating and kept glaring at Asahi from across the room).

 'I'm the one that shot him, I apologised and he's not even bothered! So he's not going to have anything against you!' Noya had tried to state, clinging to Asahi's leg.

 It was really awkward, for Kageyama anyway. He felt like he didn't really belong in the group, he wasn't sure how to feel about the situation- he knew he should trust these people, but every fibre of his being was telling him not to, and he knew it was just the stupid Crow thought that had been engraved into his skull that was making him think that way.

 'My, if it isn't the King of the Battlefield. It's been some time, Kageyama.' The man known as Oikawa had approached him, flashing his dazzling smile and swishing his styled hair out of his face. He didn't look like a Mech pilot, he looked like some kind of fashion model. His presence really irritated Kageyama, but he didn't know why. 'Of course, you won't remember me. Mr. Refreshing didn't either. It's funny that you two don't remember each other. We were such great pals, once.'

 Kageyama snorted. 'I don't believe you.'

 Oikawa laughed. 'Yeah, I'm lying. I was always better than you. You were this cute little jealous kid that used to follow me around a lot, wanting me to tutor you. Maybe that's why you  turned against me. Wanted to bring down the competition?'

 It didn't take long for Kageyama to decide he didn't like this person. He just oozed arrogance and self-interest. He kept glancing at himself in the reflection of the window.

 Whooping from across the room made the pair of them look over. Noya and Tanaka were cheering, stood on a table, because Suga had grabbed Daichi and was kissing him in the middle of the room. Oikawa chuckled. 'They've been doing that a lot.'

 'He did think Suga was dead for a while...'

 'Maybe I'll go kiss Iwa. I bet he'll love that.' Oikawa grinned and walked off without a single goodbye.

 'Hey, Kageyama.' A voice from behind made Kageyama almost jump out of his skin. He turned around and found Hinata stood behind him, bandaged up and looking very bruised, but wide-awake and beaming from ear to ear. He was holding a drink in either hand, one of which he handed over. 'I got you a beer.'

 'Ff-tt-tha-thanks.' Kageyama wanted to kick himself. He couldn't look Hinata in the eye. 'I- Is- Are you - Is anything broken?'

'Nah, I'm all good. Just aching.' Hinata sighed and tried to stretch his arms over his head, but he winced and lowered them. 'This is great, isn't it? We're all here, and we're all safe, and the General said he would arrange a coach to take us all back to Tokyo. You can all find your lost families and we can all settle down. There are so many places I want to take you, there's so much food you have to try, like this one dish, it's called squid, it's a type of fish, I think, but they batter it and-'

 'Hinata. Do you like me?' Kageyama cut across him. He'd just been staring at Hinata, watching him talk, feeling a knot tighten in his chest and the words had come pouring out of his mouth before he could stop them. He grit his teeth and looked away, wishing the ground would just swallow him whole.

 'Of course I like you! You're really grumpy, and you shout a lot, and you can be mean sometimes, especially when you hit me, but you're my Mech partner and I am glad I met you.'

 Oh.

 He just saw him as a friend.

 That' settled that-

 'But, I'm also in love with you.' Kageyama turned to stare at him and Hinata was startled, he began to babble, holding up his hands. 'Ah! No! I'm sorry! I mean, don't give me that look, I'm not trying anything, I'm just- ah, ok, I'll go.'

 Beer sloshed at Kageyama's feet. He'd dropped the cup and had reached over to grab Hinata by the wrist, pulling him forwards and slipping his other hand around the back of his head. Their lips met and Kageyama's stomach did a flip.

 It felt like the kiss lasted a life time and he didn't want to pull away, even though he could feel every pair of eyes in the room looking at him. He didn't care. He'd gone through too much to reach this moment, so what did it matter. If Daichi and Suga could kiss in public, so could he. They all knew anyway.

 Eventually, they parted and Hinata was still babbling, his face almost the same shade as his hair. Kageyama grabbed his face in one hand and squeezed his cheeks, making Hinata pout and fall silent.

 'I love you too, you stupid dumbass.'

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am slacKING   
> I've been planning a new fic I want to write so I ended up putting this off for a couple of days and IM SO SORRY BUT PLEASE ENJOY THE GAY   
> I also kinda don't want it to end - hence the new fic idea to make me like ooh yes   
> It's 3am. This anime is ruining my life.


	20. Chapter 20

The group had two choices: to go home or continue fighting.

Nekoma promised that if they wanted to quit there and then, that would be it and nothing bad would come of it. They help the boys all relocate their families, get them all settled into a new life and keep them as far away from Sendai as possible, where they'd never have to worry about the war ever again.

 However, aside from Hinata, who had been quite hoping to take them all down to Tokyo and show everything off to them, the group still wanted to keep battling, much to General Nekomata's surprise.

 'We were part of the problem,' Daichi said, as the rest of his team nodded behind him. 'Now we can help be part of the solution.'

 Even Kageyama was on his side. He was angry at what the Crow's had done to all of them, furious they'd snatched away memories of life before and the world that surrounded them. Hinata knew immediately that if Kageyama was staying, so was he. Kageyama needed him. They worked superbly as a team and he wasn't going to quit at the last hurdle.

 That's what the General said this mission was going to be - the final big one. The plan was to send all forces in and break into the Crow base. They had enough man power now, and with the Karasuno team on their side, they couldn't lose, especially since they knew the better ways to break into the base. Kiyoko was already drawing up plans, with the help of Ukai and Takeda, pointing out areas that are less likely to be manned and talking about each different teams Mech's and the best way to destroy them.

 More members had signed up to join Dateko, with Takanobu Aone, the man Noya had shot, as their leader. Kiyoko was helping them re-enforce their Mechs to make them bigger, stronger, and faster. They would work as a unit to form their Iron Wall and block off the strongest Crow Mech's.

 'Saeko is definitely going to be in one of them,' Tanaka pointed out at a meeting. 'But let me go after her. I know which is her Mech because she likes to paint the fingers of her Mech red.'

 'What, like blood?'

 'Uh, I think she views it more as nail polish.' Tanaka shrugged. 'But I don't want to fight her. If I can talk to her, she'll definitely come onto our side. It'd be good to have her on our team.'

 They hadn't been happy about accepting Nekoma uniforms, they said they'd killed too many of their men to be able to wear one without guilt. They didn't deserve that honour. So instead, they had new black-and-orange ones made, with a better fit, better armour, and really comfortable shoes that squeaked sometimes when they walked, which Noya drove everyone mad with.

 Training began, as they had to learn how to pilot Nekoma Mechs, which were similar to their old ones but a little more advanced, and had picture monitors instead of just a voice-over com, so they could see what the other members were doing in their Mechs. No one was allowed to contact Tanaka and Noya again after they'd flashed their butts to the camera, and Daichi had chased them down a corridor with a broom.

 The attack was to take place in just over a month, which meant they had to spend all their time working solidly, improving their skills and battling with members from Nekoma, Aoba Johsai and Dateko. Asahi was re-learning everything, having not been in a Mech for a few years, but was picking it up again fast, and had Kiyoko at his side, who was good at keeping him calm.

 Daichi and Suga often had a lot of arguments, because Daichi wasn't happy about Suga going in a Mech again (despite having been fighting with Aoba Johsai already) and wanted him to sit this one out, but Suga was refusing and saying he wanted to be a part of it and Daichi needed him by his side and he wouldn't let Daichi risk his life without him.

Their arguments usually got so loud and aggressive that Suga would end up pulling Daichi from the room and Hinata did not even think about what they were doing elsewhere, but Noya and Tanaka liked to joke that Daichi would be struggling to walk in the morning.

 Hinata knew he wasn't ready to move into that stage of a relationship with Kageyama, he was far too nervous and bumbling at the moment, he kept embarrassing himself whenever Kageyama was around and often did something that made Kageyama shout at it- like spilling water down his shirt or tripping over and smacking his head into Kageyama's stomach.

 He got butterflies in his stomach whenever Kageyama entered a room and his face grew hot and all his instincts told him to run away, but he didn't want to. He liked being in a relationship with him, it made him really happy, they would walk around holding hands (which Tsukishima liked to tease them about) and they had been given a shared room so they could snuggle at night, which was alright for the most part except he was very fidgety in his sleep and often whacked Kageyama in the face, which usually got him aggressively woken up.

 Kissing was great too. He really liked kissing. Kageyama was really gentle, which had been a surprise to Hinata at first, and it sent shivers down his spine and his belly did little flips. He often wondered if he'd kissed anyone before, and had asked Kenma if he'd had a boyfriend or a girlfriend, but Kenma said he didn't think so. Maybe that meant Kageyama was his first love.

 He liked that thought.

 Kageyama had refused to ask Oikawa if he'd had a relationship prior to losing his memories, as he didn't need Oikawa making some big joke out of it, and he said he didn't really care anyway. If he had loved anyone else, it didn't matter to him now. All that mattered was Hinata, even if he was the biggest idiot on the planet.

 Hinata had rang his mother and cried his apologises, but she wasn't mad at him. She said the General had spoken to her about it after Hinata had left and she said he was old enough to make his own decisions and she trusted him enough to always return to them. He'd also told her about dating Kageyama, which she was thrilled about and asked to speak to him, which made Kageyama incredibly flustered and he stammered most of his words.

 'Invite him over for dinner when you're finished with your mission,' she said lovingly. 'I'd like to meet him. Invite all your friends, if you'd like. I'll cook for everyone.'

 With the prospect of Hinata's mother cooking them all delicious food, the mood in the group really perked up.

 Having Ukai with them was a tremendous help, as he knew all the other formations the other Crow teams usually took and what their battle strategies tended to be, and Takeda was super excited to learn about all the new technology available to him, colour television was a massive shock, and he was fascinated to learn how they'd created a cloaking device for their Mechs so it was difficult for the Crow's to pick them up.

 Although Hinata quite liked spending time with Kenma, as he liked hearing all about their past together, what they used to get up to, what school life was like, how Hinata constantly embarrassed himself, he didn't get much time to do so because of their hectic training schedule. Also, Kageyama would ask Kenma non-stop questions about his life as a Mech pilot and wanted demonstrations and joint practise sessions, which Kenma didn't seem interested in, and he would usually walk straight back out of a room if he noticed Kageyama was in there.

***

 Someone had gotten in contact with Tanaka's parents, who had come straight up to the Nekoma base to see their long lost son. They were, according to Hinata, just older versions of Tanaka and Saeko, just as loud and opinionated and over-dramatic. They wept as they clutched at Tanaka, and Noya had joined in the hug, which they seemed to have no problem with and said he could happily join their family if he wanted to.

 'Promise me you'll get Saeko back,' Mrs. Tanaka pleaded to her son, cupping his face. He gave a tearful nod, but Tanaka had been fretting about what he was going to say to Saeko from the moment they'd first arrived in the Nekoma base. She was completely devoted to the Crow's Allegiance, and was very unhappy with change, so would she be willing to come around easily?

 Perhaps he would have to knock her out and bring her back and show her the outside world himself. It'd probably be a huge culture shock to her but he didn't know what else to do. He had faith that if he just tried to speak to her, she would listen to him. They were family, after all.

 So, when the day finally arrived for them to set out on what should be their final ever mission, Tanaka was sweaty with nerves, which Noya repeatedly pointed out to him and said Kiyoko wouldn't be interested in someone so greasy. Tanaka wasn't really bothered about what Kiyoko thought of him at that very moment, as he walked towards his Mech, he only had his sister in mind.

 Daichi had noticed how quiet he was being, but must have understood why, as he just gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder and went to join Suga in a Mech. Tanaka would have usually made some joke about them secretly banging in a Mech, but his throat felt tight and he didn't feel like it today.

 'Don't worry, bro, we'll get her back. It's fine.' Noya grinned at him and hauled himself into the cockpit, strapping himself in. He stretched out his little legs and raised his arms over his head, making an awful noise as he yawned, which made Suga snap at him. 'I can't believe Asahi gets to pilot a Mech with Kiyoko. It's not fair!'

 Across the room, Asahi was seated by Kiyoko's side, looking very pale and like he was going to be sick. None of the training in Nekoma base could have really prepared him for going back out onto the battle field again. Kiyoko was talking to him quietly, and Tanaka knew she would be able to keep him calm and hopefully, once Asahi was out there, he'd be alright. He could really focus when he needed to, it was just the anticipation of it all that was getting to him.

 Tsukishima had been paired up with Aone. They both looked very intimidating, seated side by side, looking irritated. They were going to be blocking as many of the Crow's Mechs as possible, which was what they both excelled at, thus why they'd been partnered up. They'd seemed to work fine together in training, but Tsukishima often liked things his way, so that could all change once they were on the other side of the wall.

 Hinata and Kageyama were squabbling, which wasn't unusual. Despite now being boyfriends, they had started bickering about things even more and this time Kageyama was annoyed because Hinata had nudged him and made him spill milk all down his front ten minutes prior and he didn't have time to change. Hinata was demanding it wasn't his fault and that Kageyama should have been looking where he was a going, to which Kageyama retorted with 'I was! You're just too short to see!'.

 'Are we all ready?' Oikawa's voice floated through the com system and a little image popped up on the screen. He was running his hands through his thick brown hair and winking at the camera and Iwaizumi leaned over and smacked him around the back of the head. 'Ouch! Iwa!'

 'Quit it, we're moving out.'

 The screen went black and an alarm started wailing overhead, signalling them all to head out. The doors were opened and they all marched their way towards the huge wall, where many other Mechs were waiting at the gates to be let into the city of Sendai. Tanaka couldn't be bothered to even try and work out how many Nekoma, Aoba Johsai and Dateko Mechs there were. More than the Crow's had, he knew that much.

 Would it be enough to beat the Crow's though? Surely it would. He'd been personally finding it harder and harder to defeat the enemy, back when he was on the Crow's side, as Nekoma and Aoba Johsai were constantly advancing and getting stronger. Now they had more recruits and even members from the Crow's Allegiance on their side, so it had to be enough. He had to believe it would be enough. He'd get his sister back and they'd all go back to Tokyo with Hinata and find wherever home was.

 Being back in the wastelands was rather depressing, seeing it from a new perspective. He had once thought this was all that was left of mankind, wreckage and ruin, but now he knew the truth and it made him feel so angry and hurt. There was so much pent up rage inside of him that he knew the moment he saw a Crow Mech he was going to unleash hell.

 Travelling from the wall took its time and he wasn't up for any of Noya's usual games. Noya must have sensed there was something bothering Tanaka and he tried to ask about it, but Tanaka shook his head and said he was just trying to remain calm and focused. Things were different now, the reason he was fighting was different, he didn't care about winning anymore, he just wanted Saeko.

 'I want to rescue as many girls as possible!' Noya said eagerly. 'They'll all think I'm their hero!'

 'No movements from the Crow's just yet,' Ukai came over the com, his little video image appearing. Takeda waved happily at the camera. All this new technology was very exciting for him. 'But they won't detect us on their radar until we're really close to the base. Tanaka, head towards Area 1, so you can get to your sister before anyone else does. Daichi, Suga, Kageyama and Hinata, go back to our base and see if you can blast your way in. If we can get to my old man and restrain him, we might be able to get him to surrender. He can admit to everyone himself what he's been doing and how he's brainwashed them all.'

 'Got it, Maj- wait, what do we call you now? Are you still a Major?' Noya asked. Ukai shrugged.

 'Call me what you want. Just get to work.'

  'Aye-aye, Sweetiepie.'

  'No.'

  'Sugar plum?'

  'Noya-'

  'Suga plum princess?'

  'Ukai is fine. Just Ukai. Now go!'

  'Roger that, Sweetcheeks!' Noya laughed before switching off the com monitor so Ukai couldn't yell at him. Tanaka couldn't help but smile. 'Let's go, Honeybear.'

  'I swear to God I will throw you out of this Mech if you start that shit with me,' Tanaka threatened, before laughing and adding, 'Pixie princess' on the end. This continued for some time, getting more and more ludicrous as they trekked through the city, taking back alleys and hidden routes, heading towards Area 1 where Saeko was stationed.

 'Do you think Hinata would appreciate it if I started calling him Orange Squash? Ya' know, since he's orange and squashed-looking.' Noya asked as they sat patiently in their Mech. The Crow's had not come out to battle yet, which meant they probably hadn't picked up any signals from them. Tanaka didn't want to get too close. He needed to wait for Saeko to come out in her Mech and make her follow him to a safe place, where he could talk to her in private without the risk of being shot.

 'You're shorter than Hinata, you know.' Tanaka pointed out, making Noya huff.

 'By like, a centimetre!' Noya folded his arms and kicked out his little legs. 'I'm still growing!'

 It was during an intense game of rock, paper, scissors that Ukai appeared on their screen again to tell them the Crow's Allegiance had picked up their signal, since Daichi, Suga, Kageyama and Hinata had gotten to the door of their old Area and were trying to bust in. Both of them sprung back into the seats and readied themselves, keeping an eye on the door to Area 1. They were a little way away from it, but still in sight, so that they could easily attract Saeko to them and run in the opposite direction without having to get into a fight with anyone else.

 'Are you sure she'll come after us?'

 'Yeah, it'll look like we're challenging her, and that's one thing my sister can't resist.'

 The metal door to Area 1 began to rise and suddenly, six black-and-orange Mechs appeared, hastily firing at the Nekoma and Aoba Johsai Mechs that were lying in wait for them. Tanaka spotted Saeko's Mech straight away, due to the red paint on the hands, and he fired a round of bullets at her to draw her attention to him and Noya. It worked and her Mech twisted in his direction and began to follow him and Noya as they turned and ran down the street.

 Saeko's speed in a Mech was insane, she couldn't move like Hinata did, but no one could rival that, but she was ruthless when it came to piloting. It didn't matter what was in her way- cars, motorbikes, rubble- she'd plough straight through it like it was nothing. This meant he and Noya didn't have long to get a distance away from the rest before she was on them, smashing into their Mech and sending them skidding across the ground.

 They were back on their feet again in seconds, ready to grabble with her Mech as she tried to grab them and push them into the nearest building. One of her arms broke free of their grasp and slammed into the side of their Mech, sending a spider-web of cracks across the windows in Tanaka's side.

 'What's your plan, Ryu? She's going to destroy us at this rate.'

 'I need to talk to her, but if we lift the top back, she'll shoot immediately. Our best bet would be to take out her arms first.'

 This was easier said than done, however. Tanaka knew Saeko would be difficult to take down, she had risen through the ranks quickly because she was just that good at what she did, much like Kageyama. She dodged every swing, blocked every blow, continually forced them back and moved so quickly it was hard for them to keep up. The only thing really keeping them on their feet were Noya's incredible blocking skills, his sharp little eyes could spot the slightest movement in their enemy and would be ready to combat it in an instant.

 Explosions nearby made Tanaka worry about the rest of his team, he had no idea how they were doing and he didn't have time to start fiddling with the controls to get the com system working. He was far too focused on stopping Saeko from killing him and Noya without realising it. He knew she'd be distraught if that happened.

 'Come on, Saeko, just stop for moment!' Tanaka said through gritted teeth as he spun their Mech to avoid an attack and fired a small missile to blow her back, but she managed to hold herself steady and was back at them in seconds, ready to continue their fight to the death.

 'I feel like we should have come in a Crow Mech,' Noya said, blocking another swing. 'She wouldn't have been so keen to attack us then.'

 'You could have come up with this idea earlier!' Tanaka shouted, as an explosion from nearby tried to drown him out and Saeko slammed a fist into their window, cracking it more.

 'Quick! Grab her arm!' Noya yelled and Tanaka moved as quick as he possibly could, taking hold of Saeko's Mech arm in both hands and began to twist it at the elbow joint, trying to snap it off. She, however, was having none of this and kicked out a leg, knocking them off their feet.

 With both hands still tightly clenched to her Mech arm, it resulted in them bringing her down with them, onto her front, and they were on their feet again in seconds, stamping down on her Mech to try and break it. She rolled over and grabbed hold of one of their legs and twisted the ankle joint. A horrible creaking sound told them their metal foot was being bent at an odd angle and they pulled back, but ended up wobbling. Their foot hadn't been broken off, but at this angle, it wasn't keeping them very stable.

 'This isn't good, Ryu. Maybe we should call for help.' Noya suggested but Tanaka shook his head.

 'We can do this. I just need a way to talk to her. When she knows it's me, she'll stop.'

 'What if, we grab her arms again, and hold her steady, and you kick the remainder of your window in. She'll be able to see you through it and maybe she'll back off.'

 'Good idea, Yu! Let's try it!' 

 Saeko was already advancing on them, trying to cave their Mech in with her repeated punches, and Noya took the opportunity when it arose to lower their defence and instead grab at her arms, pinning them together. She was struggling against it immediately and Noya said they wouldn't have much time, so Tanaka needed to smash the window now.

 He unstrapped his seatbelt so he could bring his leg up and kicked at the window. It caved in after a few kicks and the glass fell away. Tanaka leaned close to the hole and made sure Saeko would be able to see his face.

 'SIS! IT'S ME! Please, stop fighting!'

 The resistance stopped immediately. Noya wasn't sure whether to let go but Tanaka gave him a nod and they retreated backwards. Tanaka was just about to reach up and push open the top, praying now Saeko had spotted him it would be safe to do so, when a bomb hit close by, coming from an unknown source, and threw him out of his seat, blasting open his side of the Mech so he was completely exposed. Noya's side of the Mech was still intact. 

 'Shit! Ryu! Are you ok! Fuck, our Mech!' Noya cried. Tanaka, who had been flung into Noya's lap, pushed himself back into whatever was left of his seat, breathing heavily, ignoring the stinging pain in the side of his face where some of the metal had scraped him. There was a warm trickle of blood but he didn't care.

 Saeko's Mech was pushed open and she appeared, wearing the Crow uniform, accompanied by an unknown girl who Tanaka didn't pay much attention to. She was crying. 'Ryu! Jesus, Ryu, are you ok? Get out of that Mech at once, quickly. Come get in mine, I'll take you back to Headquarters. Jesus, what the fuck did they do to you? Did they brainwash you? Are they threatening you? I'm going to kill every last dirty son of a bitch who did this-'

 'Saeko, please,' Tanaka pleaded, raising a hand so she'd fall silent. Her honey coloured hair was messy and she had a nasty looking bruise on her forehead. She looked ready to climb out of the Mech to get him. 'You need to listen to me. Everything you think you know is a lie. The Crow's are the bad guys, this city is the only thing that is destroyed, there's a huge wall that surrounds it and the rest of the world is fine. There's no war beyond the wall. They lied to you because they're the ones who started the war, the ones who destroyed all this, and they stole us from Nekoma. You and me, we used to be partners for Nekoma, but they kidnapped us and wiped our memories.'

 The heat of the burning sun overhead was getting to him. He didn't like being this exposed. He felt vulnerable.

 'Don't believe what they're telling you, Ryu! They're filling your head with bullshit! They're trying to use you against us, against me! Please, just-'

 'I met our parents!' Tanaka shouted, his eyes scanning his surroundings. He hoped the bomb had hit him before had been a fluke, someone far away aiming terribly, and there wasn't a Crow Mech watching them from the shadows. 'Mum and Dad! They wanted me to bring you back to them. You look like our Mother, you know!'

 'Ryu, stop it!' Saeko was in floods of tears, her teeth clenched. Her partner had her hands on the controls, as though ready to restart the fight any moment. 'JUST COME HERE!'

 'No! You need to listen to me!'

 'RYU! GET HERE NOW!'

 Gun fire rang out. Both Tanaka and Saeko froze. It had all happened in a moment, and Tanaka hadn't meant to do it, instinct had just kicked in. He'd seen Saeko's partner move in her seat, her hands changing position, as if she was going to shoot, but Tanaka had gotten to his controls first and fired, and bullets had slammed into her chest and she had slumped in her seat, blood staining her uniform.

 'Shit, shit, shit!'  Tanaka pressed his hands to his face, digging in his nails. Why the fuck did he do that? He hadn't meant to, he'd panicked and reacted in the moment. That girl probably wasn't even going to kill him. 'FUCK! Saeko, fuck, listen-'

 'HOW COULD YOU?' Saeko screamed, more tears falling down her face. Tanaka felt a sharp pain in his chest looking at her this distraught. That girl had been her best friend and he'd just murdered her. 'YOU'RE A TRAITOR!'

 'SAEKO, PLEASE LISTEN TO ME-'

 'NO!' She grabbed the controls and swung the machine gun on their arm towards him. Tanaka's eyes widened as he saw her hand going towards the button. She was going to kill him. Her own brother.

 'TANAKA, GET IN HERE, QUICKLY!' Noya was screaming but Tanaka reached over and pressed the button that raised the shield between them. Noya started hammering at it, shrieking for him to lower it, but Tanaka already knew it was too late for him. If Saeko didn't kill him, the four Crow Mech's that had just turned up, guns at the ready, would.

 'Sorry, Yu.' He grinned as a bullet pierced his heart.

***

 Words wouldn't come to Noya, he couldn't even scream as he watched his best friend jerk around in his seat as bullet after bullet slammed into him. Saeko hadn't fired, but the others had. She had frozen in the last moments, unable to kill her brother, but the others had taken charge and done it for her and now she was screaming, so loudly it was echoing off the walls. Her hands were pressed to the sides of her head, pulling at her hair.

A bang made him jump and he peered out of his window to see Saeko, lying motionless at the foot of her own Mech. Blood was spilling out around and a small pistol lay a few centimetres away.

 She'd shot herself in the head.

 Tanaka's body slumped against the glass shield. His eyes were open, now glassy, staring straight at him and there was still a hint of a smile on his face.

 'Ryu, stop it, Ryu, get up buddy, RYU PLEASE! GET UP! DON'T YOU DARE BE DEAD! DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!' Noya started kicking at the shield, slamming at all the buttons on the dashboard, hoping something would lower the barrier between them but it seemed useless. He could barely whisper the next words. 'Please, Ryu, you're my best friend. I need you. We were going to see Tokyo together. Please don't be dead. _Please_.' 

 Every part of him hurt, but it wasn't because he was injured. His mind was on fire and he was screaming so loudly his throat was burning. The other Crow Mechs were approaching now, seeking him out, and one of them grabbed Tanaka's body and flung it away, making Noya shriek even more. He grabbed the controls and swung the Mech round at the middle, firing blindly, but he knew there was little he could do, being four-against-one.

 It was like all his emotions had left him at once. He felt numb. It didn't feel real anymore. He could see Tanaka's blood-stained body lying close to his sister and he suddenly decided that he wanted nothing more than to join them.

 Slowly, with trembling hands, he reached up and undid the latch that was keeping his half of the roof down. He pushed it back and it completely fell away, unable to hold on with only one hinge and he got his feet, raising his arms in the air in surrender.

 The four enemy Mechs readied their guns.

 This was it.

 He was going to join Tanaka.

 He was ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT  
> I have had a university deadline which was my #1 priority for a while and then I went to London for a little bit, so I do apologise  
> One more chapter to go ~~~  
> I won't leave the next one as long this time! I promise!


	21. Chapter 21

Asahi had arrived just in time to see Tanaka's lifeless body crumple to the floor next to his sister. Kiyoko threw her hands to her mouth, tears filling her eyes, but for once in his life, Asahi didn't want to cry. His entire body felt stiff and he was certain his heart had just stopped beating.

 He didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. Tanaka had to be ok. He had to be.

 The four enemy Mechs had turned their attention to Noya now, who was standing with his arms spread and his eyes closed. He was going to let them kill him. He wasn't going to fight back.

 Immediately, Asahi sprung into action and moved forwards, ploughing through the Crow Mechs, knocking them over like skittles. Kiyoko was quick to destroy the leg joints on all of them, her skills as an engineer coming in handy, and then they moved over to where Noya was stood.

 He'd jumped from the Mech and was crouched next to Tanaka's body. He was lifting him up and shaking him, screaming for him to wake up and get back in the Mech with him. They could still fight together. This wasn't the end.

 With a nod to Kiyoko, Asahi lifted their top back and unstrapped his seatbelt, clambering awkwardly out of the Mech. He wasn't as nimble as the others when getting in and out of one of these things, he was out of practice and he was much bigger and broader than the rest of them.

 'There are more coming.' Kiyoko warned him.

 Asahi approached Noya slowly, his jaw wobbling, threatening tears. He couldn't bear to look at Tanaka, or his sister, so he kept his eyes focused on Noya, who had his face pressed into Tanaka's chest and was shrieking. 'Noya, please-'

 'We've got to help him, Asahi! You're a Medic, help him, please. Please. PLEASE.' He had never seen Noya so distraught before. His entire face was crumpled and snotty. He wouldn't let go of Tanaka.

 For Noya's sake, Asahi bent down and checked Tanaka's pulse, but he knew he was dead. He was staring, glassy-eyed, at the heavens and his chest was riddled with bullet wounds. He let Tanaka's wrist drop and shook his head sadly at Noya, who began to scream again. Asahi was crying now. 'I'm so sorry, Noya.'

 'I HATE THE CROWS! I HATE THEM!' Noya shouted, shaking Tanaka. 'WE WERE GOING TO SEE TOKYO TOGETHER. TANAKA, WAKE UP. WAKE UP. WAKE UP!'

 Asahi put a hand on his shoulder. 'Noya, we need to go, before more come.'

 'I DON'T CARE, I'M NOT LEAVING HIM.'

 'We don't have a choice at the moment.' It pained Asahi to have to say this, but they were in the middle of a war. They didn't have time for this. He had to think reasonably now. 'We will come back for their bodies when we win, I promise. We'll have to take them to their parents. Please Noya, come with me.'

 'I'M NOT LEAVING HIM. GET AWAY FROM ME.'

 'Noya! Do you think Tanaka would want you to die?' Kiyoko was leaning out of the Mech, calling down to them. 'Do you think he put up that shield for any other reason than to protect you? Don't waste that. You know he'd be mad if he knew you didn't continue fighting in his name.'

 Unfortunately, Noya was in no state to listen to reason. He wouldn't leave Tanaka's body alone, he was doing everything in his power to try and get Tanaka onto his feet, but he was a much bigger bloke and was nothing but dead weight now, so Noya was struggling. Asahi pulled a face, unhappy about what he was going to have to do, but Kiyoko was shouting at him to hurry up. They had mere minutes.

 Grabbing Noya around the middle, Asahi began to drag him away. Noya began screaming again, trying to fight back, kicking his legs and throwing punches, but Asahi clung on tight and lifted him off his feet with ease and carried him back towards his own Mech. It was difficult, Noya was struggling like mad, trying to get back to Tanaka.

 'WE CAN'T LEAVE HIM, ASAHI!'

 He flung Noya over his shoulder in fireman's lift and began to climb back inside the Mech, one arm tightly wound around Noya's legs so he couldn't escape.

 Once inside the Mech, Kiyoko quickly pulled the top down and Asahi held Noya in his lap. He stopped fighting back, he allowed Asahi to strap them together and he pressed his face into Asahi's chest, his arms wrapping around his middle and he sobbed, making as much noise as possible.

 'We need to go.' Kiyoko said and moved the Mech away, leaving the Tanaka siblings lying side-by-side on the concrete below.

 

***

 

 Elsewhere, Daichi, Suga, Ukai and Takeda were taking on the Special Forces Mechs. These were the best trained men and women that the Crow's Alliegance had to offer and they were tough to take down. There were about twenty of them and only one had been destroyed.

 They weren't alone fighting the Crow Mechs, Oikawa and his partner, Iwaizumi, were there, showing off just how strong they were, Kenma and Kuro were on the other side, working as a perfect duo and there were many others from all three teams scattered amongst them.

 Having Suga back by his side, fighting out in the wasteland city, felt incredible for Daichi. Of course, he was hoping after this they'd never have to fight again, but it just hadn't been the same with Tsukishima in that seat. Not that he'd disliked Tsukishima, he just jelled better with Suga and he could sense Suga's determination and passion, and knew that he would put his life on the line to look after the person he cared about most.

 'You're looking at me, stop looking at me, we're in the middle of something.' Suga said, making Daichi jump, a little startled, and turn his attention back to the Mech they were currently battling, one-on-one.

 'Sorry.'

 'I'm aware I'm cute, but you can look at me later. I'll be naked.'

 Daichi's face heated up and he almost let his hand slip off the controls. 'Don't say things like that!'

 'Why not? You love it.' Suga was grinning. Daichi tried not to smile but he couldn't help it. Suga made them duck and told Daichi to swing a punch and smash the window of the enemy Mech, before using the momentary distraction to take it off its feet and stomp down on the cockpit area. 'Now get the legs.'

 They stomped on the legs exactly where Kiyoko had said the joints were the weakest. They snapped like twigs.

 Suddenly, the com system began to flash red and Daichi hit the button, which brought up Oikawa's face on the screen. He wasn't smiling, like usual, he looked quite panicked. He spoke quickly. 'There's a missile coming, brace yourselves.'

 An explosion hit nearby with brute force, sending friend and foe flying through the air in every direction. Daichi was thrown around in his seat, held down by his seatbelt, and whacked his elbow on the control stick, sending pins and needles up his arm. A cry from Suga made him turn to look, but his head whipped backwards and banged against the window, blurring his vision and making his head throb.

 When they'd finally skidded to a halt, Daichi allowed his eyes to refocus and he adjusted his hearing aids. He'd managed to switch them off moments before the bomb had hit, as he didn't want them to stop working.

 They were lying so far away from where they had previously been they couldn't even see it anymore. They were actually really close to their old Area opening, which had a huge hole blasted through the door where Hinata and Kageyama must have blown their way inside. Daichi and Suga had been planning on joining them, but when Ukai had informed them that the Special Forces were attacking, they had rushed to help instead.

 'Suga, are you alright? Suga, Suga!'

 Daichi was unstrapping himself, clambering over to Suga, who had his eyes open. He began to cough, and Daichi let out a sigh of relief. Suga hissed in pain, clutching at his left leg. There was a lot of blood and he could see bone sticking out just below his knee joint. 'Fuck, you're hurt.'

 'My leg got trapped and it twisted the wrong way,' Suga said, gritting his teeth, trying to control his breathing. He was sweaty and looked like he was about to cry. 'I can still fight, it's fine-'

 'No, no, don't be stupid. We need to at least stop the blood loss,' Daichi began fumbling with the straps holding Suga down. 'I'm going to carry you.'

 'Carry me where? What are you doing, stop, we need to get back to the others, we need to find out what happened to them, that blast could have killed someone-'

 He grabbed Suga by the shoulders, shaking him. 'Please, think about your own safety for once. You're losing a lot of blood and you look pale, please Suga, I need to get you inside and somewhere safe.'

 'No, no, I'm not important-'

 'You are the most important person on this planet to me. I cannot lose you again. I won't. So please, let me help you. You have to live. You have to spend the rest of your life with me. We could get married.'

 Surprisingly, Suga began to laugh. He put his arms around Daichi's neck and leaned forwards to kiss him, although it was only brief, as pain took over and he winced and fell back again. 'I love you.'

 'I love you too,  now stop moving. I'm going to put my arm underneath your legs, this might hurt so tell me if it's too much-'

 He was cut off. The intercom had started beeping. 

'Press the button! Hopefully it's Ukai calling in to say everyone is alright!'

 Suga was correct. Ukai's face popped up on the screen, but he didn't look happy. In fact, he was crying. Daichi froze, falling back into his seat. 'Ukai...?'

 The camera zoomed out, revealing Takeda, lying face-down in Ukai's arms, splattered with blood. His glasses had fallen off and he was completely still. Suga's hands flew to his face and tears rolled down his cheeks. 'No!'

 'I'm sorry guys, I don't think I'm going to make it-'

 'NO!' Suga was trying to sit up. He slammed his hand down on the dashboard. 'We'll come and get you! Tell us where you are, right now!'

 'I'm surrounded, Suga. The Special Force Mechs have outnumbered me. The others got blasted as far away as you both did, but they're safe, I've told them to head on inside. Takeda's dead.' His voice was thick and he clutched Takeda's body a little tighter. 'I'm going to use the self-destruct mode and set off all the bombs I have left in one go. It'll destroy all the Special Force Mechs. I've checked your positioning and you're far enough away that the blast won't get you. You need to get inside and find Hinata and Kageyama and help them out.'

 'I'm not going to let you do this Ukai!' Suga shouted. Ukai laughed.

 'I'm giving you an order, Soldier.'

 His line went dead.

 Another explosion could be heard in the distance. The blast didn't hit them but it certainly made the ground shake and Suga pressed his hands over his ears. He was yelling something, but Daichi couldn't hear it over the blast.

 Once the ringing had stopped, he began to pull Suga up, but he was fighting back. He was crying quite hard and was babbling about needing to get to Ukai, but Daichi knew there was no point. There'd be nothing left of him now.

 'We have to get inside! Come on!'

 Pushing open the top, he hoisted Suga into his arms, being careful of his broken leg, and clambered out, dropping to the ground. Their Mech had managed to keep itself upright by slamming into the side of a building and getting itself stuck. It was heavily scratched and the paintwork was peeling away, but it didn't matter any more.

 'Oh, aren't you guys sweet?' A voice came from the exposed entrance to Area 12. Oikawa was stood there, blood running from a cut in his forehead. Other than a few minor scratches, he seemed fine.

 'Shut up and help me.' Daichi snapped, and Oikawa sighed, but shrugged and came over to give Daichi a hand to carry Suga inside.

 They lay him on the table in the meeting room and Iwaizumi appeared with a first aid kit and told Oikawa to get out of the way before he punched him, he would deal with Suga and his damaged leg. 'You two, go find Hinata and Kageyama.'

 'But, Iwa-'

 'GO.'

 Daichi gave Suga one long, very-passionate kiss goodbye (Oikawa tried to do the same to Iwaizumi but he just received a punch in the stomach instead) and they set off at sprint together.

 'Where do you think they'll be?' Oikawa asked, following Daichi, whilst looking around at this surroundings with a hint of disgust. 'Did you really actually live down here?'

 'Not the time. This way.' Daichi led Oikawa out of the twisting corridors and onto the balcony that ran along the top of the room full of fighter jets. There were a gaggle of people stood below, including a short boy with flaming orange hair.

 Next to Hinata was Kageyama, holding a gun, and both Kuro and Kenma were stood opposite them. All four of them were surrounding one man, who had a grenade held over his head threateningly.

 They'd cornered General Ukai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW THIS CHAPTER IS SUPER SHORT and was supposed to be the last one  
> but I've decided I want the entire last chapter to be from Hinata/Kags point of view and about them breaking in and ect


	22. Chapter 22

It was odd to think this could potentially be the last time he and Kageyama would pilot a Mech together. It had almost become somewhat comforting to Hinata to be by Kageyama's side, fighting together, showing off their skills as the ultimate team, but after this battle, that would be it. No more war, no more reason to fight, the Mechs would go back to the government for use and they'd all return to Tokyo together to start a new life.

 He had no idea what he would actually do instead, this was all he had ever know, even before he had lost his memories he had been a Nekoma fighter. He considered maybe joining with the Japanese army and fighting elsewhere, but he didn't know. Peace sounded nice.

 Just him and Kageyama, living in a house together, safe to grow old together.

 'Stop staring at me and help me blast open this door,' Kageyama snapped at him. The pair of them were facing their old Area entrance, which was shut tight. They'd tried repeatedly punching it but it was holding fast. They'd contacted Kiyoko through the com system and she informed them they'd need to blast the door open with a small missile, but to keep well back to avoid damages to their own Mech.

 Kiyoko had made it sound easier than it actually was. They stood a bit of distance away and sent a missile at the door, but it just caved it inwards, and on their second attempt, a Crow Mech turned up and they had to deal with that.

 'Don't use your Quick,' Kageyama warned Hinata, who looked a little puzzled. That was their best move? Why not? 'You're the only person who can move like that, and if they figure out it's us trying to get in, they'll end up calling for back up and we'll have to deal with the Special Forces or someone. Don't risk it. Besides, we don't want to kill them. We can rescue them later, once we've killed the General and taken over the base. Just take out the legs, like Kiyoko showed us in training.'

 Judging by the Crow Mech's slow, jerky movements, the pilots inside were probably new and under-trained. It wasn't surprising the General would put every man out on the line, regardless of skill, in this final battle. He didn't care if they died, he'd never cared. It had all been one fat lie.

 The enemy Mech was down in under five minutes, both of its legs bent at odd angles so it couldn't get back up again. They left it there and started attacking the door again. Eventually, it gave in and produced a hole big enough to get their Mech through.

 Hinata never thought he'd be stepping back through these doors as not a friend, but a foe.

 Their old Mechs were all there, lined up against the wall, and nothing had changed in the Area itself. Yamaguchi's urn was still resting on Suga's table. Hinata made a mental note to remember to grab it, or to at least remind Kageyama to grab it, before they left. If all went well, Tsukishima might be able to collect it himself.  

 Yamaguchi deserved a proper burial, a proper funeral, a gravestone in some field somewhere, not left in this hell hole.

 Not a lot of time had passed since Hinata was here last, but it felt like a lifetime. It didn't feel like a home to him anymore, all of his memories of life here were tainted now, they were no longer happy to him, despite how much he had smiled and laughed with the members in this team. It had been a prison, and he was glad to be free of it. Actually being back here made him feel quite sick.

 He wouldn't vomit, not again. Kageyama would murder him.

 They brought the Mech to a halt and opened the top, clambering out. They dropped to the floor and moved over to the cupboard where the firearms were stored. That annoying siren was wailing overhead and the light was flashing, warning the non-existent members of Area 12 to jump into action.

 Ukai had given Kageyama the key to access it, and the both of them pulled out a rifle each. Hinata wobbled with his, losing his balance and Kageyama took it off him and replaced it with a smaller hand gun. 'You'll break your arm trying to fire that. Use this instead.'

 'I want to use the big one! I can manage!' Hinata moaned, but Kageyama slammed the cupboard shut and glared at him, making Hinata back away. That scowl meant Kageyama was serious and shouldn't be messed with.

 'Do you even know how to shoot a gun?'

 'Yeah!' Hinata said cheerily, and Kageyama raised an eyebrow at him. He pouted. 'No.'

  Kageyama gave him brief instructions on how to properly hold it, so he couldn't break his arm when he fired, and made him practise re-loading it a couple of times before he satisfied that Hinata would be able to handle it. 'Don't shoot anyone unless I tell you to. I have sworn to myself to stop you from becoming a murderer. Only in self-defence if I'm not there to help you.'

 His heart did a flip inside his chest and he couldn't help the heat that rushed to his cheeks when he looked up at Kageyama. He wanted to kiss him, but he felt Kageyama would probably yell at him about it being an inappropriate time.

 Suddenly, a Nekoma Mech came crashing through the hole in the Area door, the majority of its metal was peeled away and one of the arms was hanging off. It screeched to a halt and the top popped open, revealing Kuroo and Kenma inside. Kuroo gave a little wave. He seemed slightly dazed.

 Both boys ran forwards, watching as Kenma ignored Kuroo completely and jumped from the Mech, landing gracefully in front of the pair of them. He looked as bored as he always did and was trying to stifle a yawn. Hinata scanned him up and down, but he seemed fine. 'Are you alright? What happened?'

 'Some Crow Mech outside caught us when we were heading over, it made us lose balance a bit. It's fine, Oikawa and Iwaizumi are dealing with them. They'll be in soon. Also, we got hit by a bigger explosion and I don't know what happened to Ukai, Takeda, Suga or Daichi, but they're probably ok.' Kenma told them and Hinata and Kageyama exchanged worried glances. Kenma sighed. 'Kuroo, can you get in contact with any of them?'

 'I think my nose is bleeding.' Was all Kuroo responded with. Kenma rolled his eyes and waited for Kuroo to join them on the floor, a hand clamped over his face. His dark hair was messier than ever. 'Does anyone have a tissue?'

 Hinata directed Kuroo towards the bathroom and he wobbled off, still dazed from the last attack he'd received. Kenma sighed again and shrugged his shoulders. 'This place is gross.'

 'We're aware.' Kageyama said bitterly.

 'Where's your General?'

 'How should we know?'

 'Oh. I thought you might. I'm going to get myself a gun. Are they in that cupboard?' Kenma asked, but didn't wait for an answer before walking over and pulling the door open. He took the rifle that Hinata had tried to snatch earlier. Kageyama frowned.

 'You know how to use that?'

 'Yes.'

 'Fair enough.'

 'Hey! How do you know he can! Why aren't you making him use a little gun?' Hinata protested and Kageyama pushed him away.

 'Shut up, he's trained, you're not. Plus, I don't really care if he hurts himself.'

 'Thanks.' Kenma said.

 Kuroo returned moments later holding a bloody lump of tissues to his face, his expression a grumpy one. Kenma pointed to the gun cupboard and told him to go select one. They were going to hunt down the General.

 'What's the plan? Do we kill him?' Hinata asked, fiddling with his hand gun. He had the safety on but Kageyama kept snatching it away from him every time he pointed it at someone else, and eventually said he could have it back when they were setting off.

 Another Mech came blundering in, this one a little rickety on one leg. It was an Aoba Johsai Mech, so none of them panicked. Oikawa and Iwaizumi appeared and jumped out and immediately Iwaizumi smacked his partner around the back of the head, making Oikawa cry out. He had a lot of blood on his face. 'What was that for, Iwa?'

 'You never focus!'

 'What happened?'

 'He was being a pain and got himself injured. Forget it. Are you guys going after the General or what?' Iwaizumi glared around at all of them and Hinata instinctively hid behind Kageyama.

 'Are you coming with?' Kageyama asked and Oikawa looked ready and raring to go but Iwazumi grabbed his arm.

 'Ukai told us to wait here for Suga and Daichi.'

 'Oh thank God, they're all ok.' Hinata breathed out and Iwaizumi looked at him for a moment but turned his head away. Hinata didn't like that look. It worried him, but he didn't dare ask what it meant. He didn't want to know, not yet anyway. If something bad had happened, he'd find out soon enough. Right now, he had a mission to focus on. 'Can we go?'

 'Yes. Kenma, Kuroo, follow me.' Kageyama ran towards the exit door and the three of them jogged after him, carrying their guns (Kageyama had handed Hinata his own back to him). Iwaizumi was yelling at Oikawa as they left.

 Most of the base was empty, considering all the soldiers had been called out to fight in the wasteland city. It felt eerie, it being so weirdly silent. As they passed by the cafeteria, Hinata couldn't help but glance in, his eyes lingering on the table that the Karasuno team all used to sit at together for meals, with Daichi at the head of the table. The memories hurt him to think about, because even though everyone bar Yamaguchi was still alive, they'd never have that again. It was unlikely they were all going to stick together after this was over, everyone would go their own separate ways and live their own lives and who knows if he'd see any of them again. He had Kageyama, which was fine, but he had grown fond of his little family whilst trapped down in these concrete walls.

 They found General Ukai in the room with all the fighter jets, trying to desperately fix the engine in one of them. According to Kiyoko, none of these planes were actually fit to fly and the General had just kept them all from years ago, wanting the room to look impressive and make the soldiers believe they had more weapons than they actually did. She had offered to fix them up many times, but the General usually shooed her away from them because he was worried she might try and just leave, although she had said she'd snuck down one night to mess with one of the engines and found they were all out-dated and there were no new parts. The General was probably kicking himself about it now, considering he could no longer use this as an escape plan.

 What a coward, Hinata thought, following Kageyama and Kenma down the metal steps. Everyone had their guns pointed at the General, who had yet to notice them. He was too busy throwing gears around and swearing loudly. He was just going to abandon all his soldiers.

 A body lay at the end of the room, a single gunshot in their chest. It was his female secretary. There was a gun in her hand. Hinata didn't know whether she'd shot herself or he'd killed her, but judging by the angle, it was probably him. Maybe he had told her the truth and she'd tried to fight him.

 'General!' Kageyama shouted, making General Ukai jumped and drop the spanner he was holding. He spun on the spot, staring madly at all of them with wide, popping-eyes. He then grinned manically. 'Surrender! Make your troops stand down! This war is over, you're finished.'

 'I could have given you boys everything,' he was laughing, as though he had lost his mind. One hand dug into his pocket and the boys all readied their weapons, pointing at his chest. Kenma and Kuroo moved around him slowly. Hinata's hands were shaking and it was hard to keep the gun steady. 'You would have been heroes in my world.'

 'You were never going to have a world.' Kageyama snapped, switching off the safety on his gun. 'It's over. Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head. Do it slowly, keep your hands where I can see them, now!'

 However, the General had a different idea. He brought out a small green grenade and held it over his head, a threatening glint in his eyes. One hand held the pin. 'If you shoot me, I'll pull it and we'll all die here. The explosion will cave the whole roof in.'

 'You son of a bitch.' Kageyama hissed. Kenma let out a long, tired sigh.

 'Can we not? I don't want to die in this place, personally.' Kenma moaned and Ukai spat at him.

 'Don't talk to me, scum. You Nekoma are all disgusting. You are traitors. We used to have an alliance, before Nekomata betrayed me. He could have ruled by my side, but he chose Aoba Johsai and Dateko. I vowed I would kill you all.'

 'Give it up, General!' Hinata shouted, trying to be brave, but his voice was shaky.

 'I was so thrilled when we got hold of you, Hinata. You were such an incredible Mech pilot, I knew you could lead us to victory, but you fucking Nekoma bastards ruined it!'

 Footsteps made him look up. More people had entered the room. Hinata dared a glance over his shoulder and saw Oikawa and Daichi leaning over the railings, looking panicked.

 'Sawamura.' Ukai scoffed. 'I'd hoped you were dead.'

 'Afraid not.' Daichi called back. 'What are you guys waiting for, shoot him.'

 'He has a grenade, Daichi.' Kuroo pointed out. 'Do you want to be blown up?'

 'Yes, listen to the Nekoma scum. All of you, lower your weapons and back away and I won't blow you all sky high.'

 'Your grandson is dead.' Daichi said and a ringing silence followed. Hinata's stomach plummeted and tears stung his eyes. Ukai was dead? What had happened?

 Even General Ukai was a little shocked, but then he snorted. 'I don't care about him. My son was a traitor and married scum. I was going to kill the brat myself, since he no longer served any purpose to me. Good riddance, I say.'

 'You're disgusting.' Kageyama growled. Ukai laughed in his throat.

 'I used to be so proud of you, Kageyama. You killed so many of the enemy. Maybe he's the one you should be pointing your guns at! He's killed plenty of your Nekoma and Aoba Johsai allies!'

 'After you brainwashed me! You took away my memories! You lied!' Kageyama had started to shake. He was getting angry. Hinata felt sweat running down his forehead, and his eyes focused on the grenade in Ukai's hand.

 'Doesn't stop you from being a murderer, does it?'

 Kenma tutted. 'I'm bored.'

 And then he fired.

 Everyone gasped and jumped for cover, thinking the bomb would detonate, but nothing happened. Kageyama had thrown himself over Hinata and was crushing him. Hinata wriggled free and looked up to find General Ukai on his knees, clutching at his bleeding wrist. Kenma's shot had been so precise it had snapped the bone in Ukai's wrist, and he had dropped the grenade without managing to pull the ring. It had rolled away from him and Kuroo had walked over and snatched it up, pocketing it.

 Daichi and Oikawa came thundering down the stairs and Daichi took large strides over to Ukai. He booted him in the face and Ukai collapsed in a heap, blood running from his nose.

 'It's over, General.' He bent down and pulled General Ukai into a kneeling position. 'You're under arrest. We're taking you back to Nekoma headquarters, where you will face a trail for your crimes. You're going to spend the rest of your life in prison.'

 'See how you like it!' Hinata jeered and Kageyama shook his head at him, telling him to keep quiet. Hinata looked bashful.

 'Kenma, Kuroo, go into the office over there, it's a communication room,' Daichi pointed to his right at a room Hinata had never entered. 'You'll be able to connect to all the Crow Mech's and turn off their power. Tell them all that the General is captured and they are to surrender.'

 'You think they're going to be so willing?' Kuroo asked.

 'I don't know, but they're not going to have much choice if their Mech's don't work. Go, quickly, before we lose any more men.'

 Kenma and Kuroo ran off.

 Oikawa chuckled and leaned on Kageyama's shoulder. 'You should just shoot him, save us the hassle of a trial.'

 'Oikawa, be quiet.' Daichi snapped. 'We're not shooting him-'

 A bang echoed through the room and Daichi toppled backwards, a hand clutched to his stomach. Ukai had retrieved a gun from behind his back and shot Daichi. He turned the gun on Hinata but before he could pull the trigger, three bullets whacked him in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

 Kageyama had shot him.

 Hinata was crying. He ran over to Daichi, who was being supported by Oikawa, and began to babble, asking what he should do. Oikawa told him to run and fetch Iwaizumi, he was a trained medic and he'd be able to help Daichi if they hurried. He had one hand pressed to the wound on Daichi's stomach, trying to stop blood loss.

 He sped off, thankful for his speedy physic. He didn't get lost this time. He made it to Area 12 in no time and was grabbing at Iwaizumi's arm desperately, trying to pull him along.

 'What are you doing?'

 'Daichi- needs help- been shot-'

 'Lead the way.' Iwaizumi said without any questions and grabbed his medical kit. Suga was calling after them as they ran out the room- he'd been lying on a bed in the dormitory and hadn't heard what Hinata had said. He couldn't follow them on his leg.

 General Ukai was dead when they arrived back, but Daichi was still clinging on. Iwaizumi started to treat him immediately, injecting him with some anaesthetic to numb the pain. He worked fast to remove the bullet and clean up the wound before stitching it up again. He said Daichi was lucky and it hadn't punctured any vital organs, but it would make moving difficult for some time until it had properly healed.

 Kenma and Kuroo returned with news that the Mechs had all been shut down and they'd radioed Kiyoko, who said she would contact General Nekomata and they would start rounding up all the survivors, friend or foe, and get some trucks in to take everyone back to Nekoma base. Everyone from the Crow's Allegiance who had their memories wiped would be put in rehabilitation centres to readjust to normal life and they would start working on hunting down families.

 Hinata collapsed to his knees, really sobbing now.

 It was finally over.

 They had won.

 

 The week that followed was an unpleasant one. After finding out Ukai, Takeda, Tanaka and Saeko had all died, Hinata had broken down and sobbed into Kageyama's chest. Noya wouldn't speak to anyone and clung to Asahi.

 Seeing the Tanaka's broken bodies was awful. They had to collect the pair of them and take them back to their parents, who screamed at the sight of their dead children.

 Suga was in a state when he found out Daichi had been shot and cried for hours, saying it was all his fault and he should have been there. He had to attend the funerals in a wheelchair, pushed around by Suga, who was overly mothering him at all times and Daichi was starting to wish he could walk again.

 Having the funerals had been the worst part, Hinata decided. They finally had a proper burial for Yamaguchi, a private one, just for him, where Tsukishima scattered the ashes in a remote field near Tokyo and they all said their final goodbyes. Tsukishima had cried in front of them all, but wouldn't let anyone touch him. General Nekomata tried to locate Yamaguchi's family but said he couldn't find anyone with that name still alive, so it was likely they had somehow died in the war.

 The second funeral was for the Tanaka siblings. They were buried side by side and the parents had cried onto each other. Noya had sat in front of Tanaka's grave long after the service had finished and everyone else had left. Only Asahi waited behind for him, coming to sit by his side and letting him press his face into his shoulder.

 Ukai had no family left to attend his funeral, but all of the remainder of Karasuno showed up, along with Yui, who had hugged Hinata and sobbed. All of Nekoma, Aoba Johsai and the few Dateko members came too. It was the same for Takeda's funeral.

 Everyone said their final words to him, saying how amazing a Major he had been and they were thankful to have him by their side through everything.

 No body had actually been found for either Takeda or Ukai, the blast had completely destroyed them, so the grave was empty. It upset Hinata a lot and he wished they had at least something of Ukai's and Takeda's to put into the ground.

 His mother and sister had turned up to greet him when he'd gotten back and he thrown his arms around his mother, while his little sister grabbed at his waist. When Hinata's mother opened her arms to Kageyama to join them, he had started crying too and Hinata had laughed at him and they'd ended up squabbling.

 When Kageyama's parents had turned up at the Hinata household two weeks later, Kageyama had been in shock. He hadn't expected them to find them.

 Hinata greeted them all enthusiastically and talked non-stop about how amazing Kageyama was and how much he loved him and Kageyama's parents seemed very pleased.

 The Japanese government took over Sendai city and began to bulldoze it, after having raided the old Crow base. They were going to rebuild the city and allow families that needed re-homing to move back there, if they felt they could handle living where the war once took place.

 'We should get a house together.' Kageyama had said randomly about a month after the final battle. They'd been living at the Hinata's together- his parents had offered him a place back at his old home, but weren't upset when he said he wished to remain with Hinata, as long as he promised to visit them often, which he did.

 'What?!' Hinata sat up. He'd been lying on Kageyama's chest, watching a volleyball game on the TV together. They'd both gotten really into it since discovering it (as Hinata's room was filled with volleyball stuff from his life before the war). 'Really?'

 'Yeah.'

 'Really?'

 'I said yes didn't I?!' Kageyama snapped, and grabbed his head. 'Stop shouting in my ear!'

 'Sorry! Sorry!' Hinata wriggled free and beamed, his eyes lighting up. 'Let's do it!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... It's done  
>  I CANT BELIEVE IT  
> IM SAD NOW  
> I hope you have enjoyed this story and I'm thankful for anyone who has waited patiently while I wrote it!
> 
> If anyone would like to follow me on Tumblr   
>  thestripedhufflepuff.tumblr.com   
> I post Haikyuu!! stuff and I'd like to do some arty stuff for this story and other stories, so I'd post them on there. :3


End file.
